REPLY FROM ANDREW STROM:
I am surprised to find people of this opinion on this particular List, as it was always promoted as a Prophetic/Revival List right from the start. However, for those few who may be of the above opinion, I will attempt to provide some answers, though my experience with such questions is that those asking them often do not really want to hear or consider even a reasoned reply. Their minds are already made up, and they have no thought of ever changing their viewpoint.
Jesus said in Mt 13:39 that, "The harvest is the end of the age". He was speaking here of the "harvesting" of the good and the bad - the wheat and the tares at the end of the age. Jesus said in Mt 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached IN ALL THE WORLD for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
The apostle Peter proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost: "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit UPON ALL FLESH: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams... And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire and pillars of smoke: The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come" (Acts 2:16-20).
Why should we not apply such Old Testament scriptures to NT situations, when this is exactly what Peter did in the above case? And it is clear that Pentecost was not a COMPLETE fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, because it was not an outpouring upon "all flesh" and the massive "blood and fire" judgements in the prophecy did not come to pass at that time. We are truly in the VERY last days now, and we can obviously expect the absolute FULNESS of Joel's prophecy to come to pass in our day.
Another interesting Scripture found in Acts says that Heaven must receive Jesus until the time of the "RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:21). This "restoration of all things", according to Scripture (both OT and NT) is mainly the task of a certain class of ministry: The "Elijahs" of God. It is important to remember that there have been at least THREE men of God who have already walked under this mighty 'Elijah' anointing - Elijah himself, Elisha, and John the Baptist. Jesus said, "Elijah truly shall first come, and RESTORE ALL THINGS" (Mt 17:11). In Jesus' day, it was John the Baptist who fulfilled this role. But in the last days, there will again come this anointing upon a man, or a company, to "prepare the way of the Lord" before His return, just as we are told in the final passage of the Old Testament: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Mal 4:5-6).
The above ties directly into the passages in the New Testament which state that Jesus really CANNOT return until His enemies have already been made a "footstool for His feet". (Heb 10:12-13, Acts 2:33-35). In other words, Jesus will not return until there has been a defeat of His enemies in the earth. And it seems fairly obvious from our other Scriptures that it will be the "Elijahs" and those who accompany them who will be involved in enacting this defeat upon God's enemies in these last days.
How does all this tie in with the overall "End Times" scenario painted in the Bible? Very well indeed. Here is my brief summary of what I believe is about to occur:
1) The last days are days of increasing turmoil and natural disasters in the world, and subtle-but-powerful deception and demonic seduction in the church, just as the Bible predicts. (-This is already happening).
2) The last-days Elijah or "Elijahs" of God will arise to lead the coming worldwide Revival - the last such massive 'harvest' before the end. Also involved in leading this Revival will be a tiny 'remnant' of God's servants from out of the lukewarm church. (Like Gideon's Army, which was reduced from 32,000 'called ones' down to a remnant of 300, before God would use it). My own (and others') belief is that the current 'blessing' movement worldwide is being used by God to "cull out" this army, much as He used the 'River' in Gideon's day, until there was only a tiny remnant left. Prophetic revelation supports this.
3) This worldwide Revival will be a massive defeat for the devil's forces in the earth, and will help precipitate "war in the heavens" (Rev 12), in which the devil will be thrown down to earth from his current place in the 'second heaven'. Then will begin the Great Tribulation, the rise of the antichrist, the terrible persecution of the saints, and finally the outpoured wrath of God and the return of Christ to defeat and bind the devil at Armageddon, etc.
Thus the whole end-time scenario as painted in the Bible fits in perfectly with the concept of a final massive Revival led by the Elijahs of God and a "Gideon's Army" of God's true saints, just prior to the Great Tribulation. (The 'Laodicean' church as such will have NO PART in the coming move of God - it is currently being "given over" to deception, and God has promised to 'spew' it out of His mouth. Judgement is already beginning "at the house of God"). Thus a great end-times Revival, just prior to the 'Great Tribulation', seems to fit in very well with the Scriptures, as we have seen.
I am a Revival historian, and history clearly shows that God always brings great mercy before He brings great judgement. To do otherwise would be to totally go against His own character. Thus, we can expect that before the GREATEST tribulation and the GREATEST judgements ever visited upon the earth, God will first outpour GREAT MERCY - a tremendous worldwide outpouring of His Holy Spirit, a move led by His 'Elijahs' - the MOST ANOINTED ministries that have ever walked the earth, just as the Bible prophecies.
And all the signs, and the dreams and visions, etc, point to this Revival beginning very shortly. Glory to God! But will we be prepared? Will we be praying? What critical days these are, in which we live.
God bless you all.
Kindest regards in Christ,
Andrew Strom