Verna Linzey, along with her 5-year-old son Jimmy, did not merely see an angel. She spoke with one.

It was an ordinary day and a familiar drive. I was in the very back of Mother’s 1959 Dodge Sierra station wagon observing the familiar sights we routinely passed when we headed toward Naval Air Station Charleston. I was 5 years old, and my favorite pastime was pointing out the make and model of the other cars on the road. I had been enthralled by automobiles since I was 3 and could identify Cadillacs, Fords, Chevrolets, Volkswagens and other cars. I was even more fascinated when traffic came to a halt as we watched the Wappoo Creek Bridge draw up so that the large boats could pass under the bridge.

My mother, Assemblies of God evangelist Verna M. Linzey, enjoyed taking time out of her busy schedule to fellowship with fellow Navy officers’ wives as part of her “ministry of presence” on the base. My father, first-ever Assemblies of God Active Duty Navy Chaplain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr., was stationed on the USS Holland, which was homeported at Charleston. Mother was on the Navy Wives Bowling League and had won a trophy for being an outstanding bowler.

I knew the drill. We would enter the bowling alley on base, and Mother would purchase a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut for me, which cost 10 cents at that time. Then I would sit and watch her bowl with the Navy wives while I enjoyed my doughnut.

I was looking forward to my doughnut on that mild, sunny day in October 1963. Then a short while after crossing the Wappoo Creek Bridge, we came to the railroad tracks before an intersection, and the light turned red. The cars ahead of us did not cross the intersection, and we had to come to an abrupt stop on the railroad tracks.

It seemed like an eternity that we waited for the green signal so that we could get off the tracks, but finally the light turned green. Then just as the car in front of us accelerated, the railroad lights started blinking, and the bells began ringing. Mother pressed on the gas pedal, but the front tires were stuck on the railroad tracks. The car would not accelerate. The train was quite a distance away, but it was coming quickly. Mother kept pressing the accelerator pedal while praying, but the car would not budge. We were stranded on the tracks.

I was in the far back of the station wagon, which was off the tracks, and Mother knew there was no time to get me out of the back of the car. She figured that I would survive if the train hit the car. So praying all the while, she threw open the door and jumped out of the car so that she, too, could survive.

Suddenly, an angel appeared, taking on the appearance of a man, and told her to get back in the car and floor the gas pedal, and “don’t let off.” She risked her life for me, rushed back inside the car and floored the gas pedal, with her heart pounding and the palms of her hands and forehead perspiring. Then the tires screeched and the car abruptly jumped off the railroad tracks to safety just before the train crossed the street. The angel was in a wide-open area for all to see. The short train sped by in seconds. After the train cleared the street, the angel was nowhere to be found. There was no time for an ordinary human being to leave the area so quickly. We had never seen him before, nor did we ever see him again. But I’ll never forget the day when my life was saved by an angel.

Not only did the angel come to us in our time of need, but my mother’s unhesitating obedience to what the angel told her to do saved both of our lives.

Looking back, I think about what would have happened had I been killed. How deeply would this have impacted the lives of people to whom I would not have ministered as a military chaplain and as a civilian minister? And what about the lives of those who would never have been spiritually impacted by the Modern English Version Bible, which I edited?

God had plans for my life. He gave me a mother who risked her life for me, and He sent an angel to intervene that day so that His purpose for me would be fulfilled.

My mother experienced the supernatural on numerous occasions because she abided by all the precepts in the Word of God. Here are three of the precepts she often talked about, which can get you on the road to experiencing the supernatural:

1. Devote your life to spiritual living. Devoting oneself to spiritual living is a life of discipline in the spiritual, mental, and physical realms. This requires a change of habits if you are accustomed to living by the comforts of this world. It requires that you swim upstream and against the flow of others who prefer their ways rather than God’s, and that you submerse yourself in prayer and much reading of God’s Word on a daily basis.

Paul the apostle instructed early believers accordingly: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2). As Christians, we have committed ourselves to live according to holy Scripture. Therein lies our salvation and the invitation to experience the supernatural.

2. Obey God. Obedience to God’s voice in your life never contradicts Scripture and includes obeying Scripture itself. The voice of God is supplemental to the Word of God. The voice of God is self-authenticating. Only you can authenticate the voice of God in your life. Other individuals can agree or disagree that you heard from God, but they could be wrong. Only you can authenticate God’s voice in your life. If you are devoted to spiritual living, you will be able to hear God’s voice. Do not let anyone steer you away from what only you can authenticate. Obey God’s voice and His Word, and then God will trust you with revelations of the supernatural and experiences in the supernatural.

God commanded Israel: “It will be, if you will diligently obey My commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain of your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil” (Deut. 11:13-14). This command, which is found in the Ten Commandments, applies to everyone. However, the accompanying blessing literally applied to Israel, but it may also apply either figuratively or literally to everyone else. The principle here is that God always blesses those who obey Him. So, obey the voice of God in your life and in His Word, and faith will be released to experience the supernatural.

3. Avoid the flesh nature. Experiencing the supernatural requires walking a narrow road. While the pleasures of life focus on things pleasing to the flesh, some Christians, including some pastors, prefer to talk about the “feel-good gospel.” Scripture focuses on both the blessings of God and what we must abstain from to experience the supernatural.

Paul the apostle warned us, “Now the works of the flesh are revealed, which are these: adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfishness, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I previously warned you, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21).

If you want to experience supernatural events in your life, there are things you must do and things you must not do. I experience the supernatural routinely in my life, as Mother did, and you can too by doing these three things: devote yourself to spiritual living, obey God and avoid the flesh nature. {eoa}

James F. Linzey studied church growth under C. Peter Wagner and signs and wonders under John Wimber at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the chief editor of the Modern English Version Bible and is a retired Army chaplain with the rank of major.

Verna M. Linzey was a Charisma Media author of The Gifts of the Spirit. She went through the . program at Fuller Theological Seminary, was an Assemblies of God evangelist and was on the Modern English Version translation committee. She also matriculated in biblical languages at Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

This is the time of year that always gets Susan Michael, USA Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), excited. Why? Because it’s a time when believers can join their Jewish neighbors in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, something she says every church should encourage.

ICEJ, which began as a prayer group in the 1970s, has been observing and teaching about the significance of Sukkot, a weeklong celebration, for more than 40 years. This year, Sukkot begins on Friday, Oct. 2, and ends on the evening of Friday, Oct. 9.

“We’ve been bringing the awareness (of Sukkot) to the church around the world,” Michael told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “It’s exciting to see churches around the world celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

“We read about this in Zechariah 14, and it’s talking about a future time and after a time of a war, actually a time of judgment on the nations,” Michael said. “And it says that those who remain will come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And so, the rabbinic community, the religious Jewish community, knows the Scriptures very well. I know it’s prophesied that in the end times, there will be this celebration of the Feasts by the Gentiles. We were very clear that we’re not a fulfillment of Zechariah 14, but we’re practicing for it.

“And we’re getting the nations ready for it by bringing an awareness of the Feasts to the church. … Why is it important?” Michael asked. “It helps us to understand God’s calling on the Jewish people and the roots of Christianity, which are Jewish, and the reach, meaning that we can draw out of all of these Feasts and observances that God gave his people Israel. So, there’s great richness, of celebrating God’s provision and celebrating the coming kingdom of God on earth and that final wave of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So it’s got tremendous meaning.”

For more about the importance of the Feast of Tabernacles with Susan Michael, listen to the entire podcast.

As a mother, Sheila Walsh knows only what it’s like to raise a son. But, the bestselling author and Bible teacher, who is co-host of LIFE Today with James and Betty Robison, says she still hasn’t forgotten what it was like to be an insecure teenage girl.

And that’s the reason Walsh says God prompted her to write the book, Praying Girls Devotional: 60 Days to Shape Your Heart and Grow Your Faith Through Prayer.

“Yes, I do have only one son, but I used to be a girl, and I remember the feelings of insecurity, of shame, so many things young girls deal with,” Walsh told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “So, I thought if I could reach them at a young age and help them understand their identity in Christ—not what somebody in school says about them—that would be wonderful.

“I’ve seen that even grandparents and sisters have bought this book. Wouldn’t it be great when our kids are little to connect with them and let them know that you love them, but also to connect with them spiritually?” Walsh said. “One of my main things in this book is to let girls know that they can come to God as they are, and not as they wish they were. We often shy away from things, and we feel like we don’t measure up or that we’re not good enough. To be able to encourage girls with their moms and their grandmothers to come into God’s presence all the time is wonderful.

“Praying girls are strong girls,” she added. “They are brave girls who know where their worth lies. But how do we get our girls to see prayer as more than just a thing to do before they go to bed? How do we encourage them to see each moment spent with God as part of a larger conversation and a deepening of the most important relationship of their lives?”

For more about how you can influence the young woman in your life to be a prayer warrior, listen to the entire podcast. {eoa}

What on earth is going on?

First, COVID-19. It crept into our lives gradually. In January 2020 I was preaching in Seoul, South Korea. One or two cases of the coronavirus were reported there. We flew to London in early February. A few cases of the virus, said to have come from Wuhan, China, were reported in the U.K. I did not take them seriously. But by early March things began to change drastically. Life in London became scary. A high proportion of cases of the virus were in the very area in which we resided. My physician urged me to leave England immediately. My preaching schedule for several months had to be canceled.

On March 15, Louise and I flew from Heathrow Airport in London to America. It was the next to last plane to leave Heathrow when President Donald Trump stopped all international flights from entering the United States. Lockdown was soon ordered. Reports of COVID-19 showed that cases were rapidly on the rise—now by the thousands. Hundreds of deaths were reported—especially in nursing homes in New York, New Jersey and Seattle. People over 60 (both of us are in our 80s) were said to be the most vulnerable. Because hundreds of thousands of people were not allowed to return to work, the national economy was severely affected. Restaurants, schools and churches were shut down. The increase of unemployment was the highest in living memory.

Second, on May 25, 2020, an event took place that may very well live in infamy, like the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941: the evil murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A new crisis emerged overnight, promising possibly to create a greater fear and concern than that caused by COVID-19. People across the country protested the killing of a Black man by a white police officer. People blamed the police. Thousands all over America were now damaging stores, even ruining many small businesses. Some people demanded abolishing the police altogether. A few days after the funeral of George Floyd, another white police officer shot and killed a Black man, Rayshard Brooks, in Atlanta. Violence broke out all over again. The chief of police of Atlanta resigned. Renewed calls for the abolishment of police came.

I never dreamed I would see the day in America when vast numbers of people were fulfilling Isaiah’s warning: People calling evil good and good evil (Isa. 5:20). That is what has been happening before our eyes. The breath of Satan is being felt in nearly every state. Virtually all the news deals with people in the streets protesting, with the threat of violence erupting at any moment. None of us has seen anything like this.

Is God judging America? Is the double whammy best explained as the judgment of God upon us? Yes.

Why would God bother to judge America? Is it because America has a special relationship with Him? Are we like Israel—under a divine covenant?

One thing is certain: As a nation, our forefathers chose to bring God into our government. We did not have to call ourselves a nation “under God.” We chose to. Consequently, God has honored us. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 33:12a, ESV).

The difference between God’s covenant with Israel and America’s relationship with God is simply put: God initiated His covenant with Israel. America chose to be called a nation under God. Without question, God has honored America.

But when did it become apparent that God did not continue to bless America as He had done for centuries? I know this: At some stage, an ever-increasing number of Americans began to resent being called a “nation under God” and refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Some began openly to despise the phrase “in God we trust” on our currency and declined to sing the national anthem.

4 Reasons for God’s Judgment on America

But there’s more. There is a long list of things that have brought about God’s judgment on America. Four things stand out in my mind as topping that list.

1. Racism: It is written in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The way so many white Americans—including Christians—have treated African Americans for countless years has not gone unnoticed by God. It is not unlike the sin of the early Jerusalem church when middle class Christians neglected “the poor man” (James 2:6b). So today the cries of Black people “have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (James 5:4c). That is what has happened. God heard these cries and stepped in—to judge us.

2. Legalized abortion—This alone demonstrates how America has veered away from God and righteousness. The Bible is clear that life begins at conception. The fact that the 6-month-old fetus leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when the virgin Mary showed up with the Son of God in her womb—only a few days old—is infallible proof that John the Baptist and Jesus were human beings then (Luke 1:35-45).

The Supreme Court’s decision in 1973 to allow abortion for any reason without penalty opened the way for countless abortions in the United States. And yet those who uphold this evil practice call it a good thing. The trend is now to embrace the abortion of a child 9 months old in the womb! God is angry. The double whammy has descended on us by His judgment. I would not want to be in the shoes of those politicians and Supreme Court justices who have legalized the murders of these helpless human beings.

3. Contempt for the creator God—One of the most abused truths in the Bible in recent years is the way people have willfully disregarded God’s purpose in making humankind male and female.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).

This was God’s idea as to how the earth would be populated. Christian marriage was God’s plan and purpose. Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman was not born in Hollywood but at the throne of grace. However, the biblical view of Christian marriage between a man and a woman has been largely eclipsed nowadays by the general approval of same-sex marriage. This shows contempt for our Creator God who with purpose made humankind male and female.

4. Liberalism in churches—Speaking generally, the major denominations have ceased to uphold the divine inspiration of the holy Scriptures. This is mostly traceable to seminaries and theology departments in universities. The teaching of open theism, which sadly more and more church leaders are embracing, is essentially process theology: the view that God is “open” to us and looks to us for enrichment; He does not know the future but looks to us for input to know what to do. The result has been the absence of a sense of the fear of God. It is as though America is now saying, “God, we no longer want you in our nation.” Or as C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) put it:

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done, and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.'”

God has responded. He has chosen to judge us. Let us pray that it is not silent judgment—the worst possible scenario. I do sometimes fear that America is repeating the era described in the book of Judges:

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25).

If this is so, God may choose to do nothing but rather let us carry on in our own ways, as He did ancient Israel. {eoa}

Excerpted from chapter 4 of We’ve Never Been This Way Before by R.T. Kendall: (“Is America Under Judgment?)

In 1986, while serving as an Air Force Reserve chaplain with the Pentecostal Church of God, I founded a small Pentecostal Church of God congregation in Anaheim, California, called Cornerstone Community Church. I started it in my apartment with a cell group. When we grew to about 12 people, we moved to an office space in Euclid Plaza on Euclid Street and quickly grew to about 30 people.

A number of unchurched people, many of them smokers, made up the small congregation. I sowed the seed and trusted God to bring the increase, both spiritually and numerically. I was self-supported both as a Reserve chaplain and a schoolteacher in Los Angeles Unified School District. It was hard work, but the impact on the lives of individuals through salvation and baptisms at Huntington Beach made it rewarding.

One father of a small family who attended was a backslidden Jew named Fred, who silently came to Christ while I was speaking during one of my home meetings. He was a Vietnam veteran and a printer by trade. I routinely made pastoral visits to him and his wife in their apartment because two of their teenagers attended our congregation before Fred came to Christ. During our visits, I did not realize it, but he wanted a verbal fight and would often try to bait me into arguments on a variety of issues dealing with religion, politics, social issues, the military and especially problems facing the church. After coming to Christ, he admitted that he tried baiting me into arguments.

I usually agreed with his points of view, or, because I saw no point in arguing, I would find at least one aspect of his viewpoints on which I could agree with him. That defused any possible argumentation. I displayed an agreeable spirit. That won him over, he later said. Having an agreeable spirit builds up the body of Christ.

After Fred came to Christ in my living room, he matured quickly in the faith and eventually became my assistant pastor after we moved into an office space and went public with our services. I had evangelized and discipled him successfully by the power of the Holy Spirit. I preached on Sunday mornings, and Fred preached on Sunday evenings in our rented office space where we moved our small congregation by November 1986.

In January of 1987, two months after moving into our office space, God gave me three prophetic dreams. The dreams were about the same thing. Two of them were vague, but the third dream elaborated on the previous two in detail, confirming what the Holy Spirit was showing me.

In the first dream, I saw a number of Christians in America in a concentration camp that was just for Christians. The Christians were caged in with a chain-link fence. I saw it only briefly before the scene flickered out. In the second dream, days later, I saw the same thing with not much more detail. It simply confirmed the first dream. In the third dream, I saw the scene vividly and experienced what happened. I was with a number of Christians trapped inside a large area, caged in with a chain-link fence and barbed wire on top of the fence. Armed guards, which I believe were military soldiers, had weapons pointed at us. They began shooting at us to kill us. We immediately tried to barricade ourselves behind various obstacles. Some were killed, but many of us survived.

Suddenly, we were filled with boldness and as a group we ran toward the far-left corner of the encampment to try to climb over. We failed. We could not get over the fence. Then we made a mad dash to the far-right corner. We climbed over and successfully escaped to freedom. As soon as we climbed over the fence, we noticed how blue the sky was. The air was so fresh. It was such a sunny day. But then we saw black helicopters flying overhead. The pilots were trying to find us. We scrambled to hide, but there was a foreboding sense that we were caught and that there was no escape due to the vast technology the government had to track us. At that point, the dream ended. The scene had closed.

Jesus said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Matt. 24:29-31).

I would like to encourage you to be ready for the return of Jesus, but to prepare to suffer for your faith should Jesus wait longer. Christians of other nations have already suffered exactly what I saw in my dreams. Christians in America have already been imprisoned for their faith. Some have been killed. Churches have been burned down. Jesus has waited for more unbelievers to repent and be baptized.

But be encouraged, for Jesus said in the revelation He gave to John the Beloved, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).

I believe that pastors who have not already done so should organize their congregations into cell groups of 12 people or less to meet regularly in homes or other secret places. Then if, or when, public worship places are shut down permanently by the United States government or by various state governments, the infrastructure is already organized and established to continue meeting for the proclamation of God’s Word, building up of our faith and breaking bread together. Believers who are not part of any congregation should consider organizing themselves into small cell groups. There is spiritual strength in unity.

No matter what comes, the victory belongs to us who are in Christ! Hold fast, brothers and sisters. {eoa}

James F. Linzey, ., studied church growth under C. Peter Wagner and signs & wonders under John Wimber at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the chief editor of the Modern English Version Bible and is ordained as a Southern Baptist Convention minister.

James Goll is a firm believer in Matthew 25:14-30, “the Parable of the Talents,” where a servant was rewarded for being faithful with a small amount given to him.

That’s why Goll, an author, modern-day prophet and the founder of God Encounters Ministries, says every believer should keep a daily journal. Though it may not seem like much of a kingdom duty, Goll says it’s a great way to grow in greater intimacy with the Holy Spirit. And, in turn, it will help you in the larger kingdom tasks to which God has called you.

“If you’re faithful with little, God will make it into much,” Goll told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “The church is reawakening to the fact that God does still speak today and He desires to have a relationship with His people.

“Journaling is a historically tried and trusted tool used to receive, retain and properly steward the voice of God,” Goll said. “So I want to encourage you that it is a tool for retaining the impressions that you gave expression to. And it’s a way that the Holy Spirit will bring it to your remembrance. He’s speaking to you.

“One of the great tools of increase is by journaling,” he said. “So, maybe start once a week, make it practical, try to make it consistent, and you will become closer to God. You will be able to look back on your journey and learn from life’s lessons, and you will have something to reflect upon and see that a calling is confirmed. You will also, over time, have a lineage to pass on to others.”

For more on how journaling can bring you closer to God, listen to the rest of this podcast. And tune in to James Goll’s podcast, God Encounters Today, on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}

I believe that the double whammy crisis we are now in—the COVID-19 situation and the civil unrest—will lead to the next great move of God on the earth. This will come about not because brilliant men will by their intellect convince atheists of the existence of God. Nor will it come because legislation will help quiet the unrest. It will not come because vaccines put an end to the coronavirus crisis.

The next great move of God will come when ordinary people by the hundreds are convinced that people need to be saved—that the gospel is the only hope—and are unafraid and unashamed to say this to anyone.

I wish it were not true, but the only apparent result of the double whammy at the moment is fear. Great fear. Fear of illness. Fear of dying. Fear of violence. Fear of economic downturn. Fear of change.

America has not learned her lesson yet.

Paul said to Timothy, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7, ESV). John said, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). These two statements are either true or they are not. Because they are true, there will be those who are unashamed of the gospel and will be filled with love for people, no matter their race or political views; they will have a genuine love for the gospel and whoever needs to be saved. Such people are a vital part of the key to bringing about the next Great Awakening.

The Most Dangerous People on Earth

You will recall that the people of faith in Hebrews 11 did great things on earth because they had their eyes on heaven. It will likewise be people today who have their eyes on heaven and are unafraid to die who will do the greatest good on earth and who will be leading the way in seeing people saved during the next great move of God. My friend, Josef Tson, used to say to me, “The most dangerous person in the world is one who is unafraid to die.”

Are you unafraid to die? Are you dangerous because you are a threat to Satan? Or are you like those people who thought casting out demons was a fun game—until a demon leaped on you after saying, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). The demons in hell (Gr. tartarus) knew about Jesus; they knew about Paul. But most of us are not known in hell because we are no threat to Satan’s interests. I want to be known in hell; I would prefer to be more famous there than on earth.

God is not looking for people whose aim is to effect political change. He is not looking for those who merely want to return to their comfortable lifestyles. He is looking for those who are willing to go outside their comfort zones and obey God. I believe that what will bring about the next Great Awakening is hundreds and hundreds of people like this—people who are unashamed of the Bible, who will fearlessly share the gospel wherever they are, and who are unafraid to die.

How soon and how quickly will the next Great Awakening take place? It is my opinion that it will happen soon and suddenly. Whereas sometimes God works gradually, as He did in the first Great Awakening (Jonathan Edwards preached for several years—beginning in 1733—before the zenith of the New England Awakening came in 1741), at other times He moves quickly. America’s second Great Awakening came suddenly—on August 6, 1801—and lasted less than a week! But its impact spread all over the South in a very short period of time. The Holy Spirit fell “suddenly” on the day of Pentecost. That is what I expect to happen now.

I see a day coming when there will be undoubted conversions by the thousands of university students. There will be conversions by the tens of thousands of millennials. There will be conversions of hundreds of thousands of African Americans. There will be millions of Muslims converted. And the conversions will cause the jealousy Paul envisaged that would lead to the lifting of the blindness on Israel (Rom. 11:14).

Furthermore, I expect to see high profile people—those you would least expect to be slain by the power of the Spirit—to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior openly. If God could strike down Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:4), he can save anybody. After all, if He could save you or me, He can save anybody.

What I see coming, then, is equal to the walls of Jericho falling in Joshua’s day. Yes. And do not forget that the nations to God “are like a drop from a bucket” (Isa. 40:15). America’s turning to God by hundreds and hundreds of thousands is our only hope. But I believe God will bring it about because with Him all things are possible! {eoa}

Excerpted from Chapter 12 of We’ve Never Been This Way Before by R.T. Kendall (Charisma House 2020).

Dr. Ray Self believes that, no matter what you do in life, nothing is more crucial than hearing the voice of God every day. But many times, the problem with believers is that they cannot readily recognize when God is speaking to them.

That’s why Self, an author, podcaster and president and founder of the International College of Ministry, says it’s crucial for believers to train themselves to able to know when God speaks. He wants his children to be His spokespeople, especially in the gift of prophecy—a gift every child of God can have.

And that’s what Self teaches in his book, Hear His Voice, Be His Voice, and on his podcast, Self Talk with Ray Self on the Charisma Podcast Network.

“First Corinthians 14 says to ‘pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you would prophesy,’ Self said. “Verse 39 of 1 Corinthians says to ‘covet to prophesy.’ I asked God one day, ‘Why, of all of the gifts, do You want us to prophesy? Why is that the most important?’ The Lord has very clearly said to me that nothing is more important in our life than hearing what He has to say.

“I believe that God is broadcasting. I believe that God is like the old FM radio. He’s broadcasting, and we just have to tune in. He’s talking to us, and He wants to be heard; He wants to communicate with us. He’s trying to communicate with us in a lot of different ways.

“The problem is, we’re just too distracted, too busy to hear His voice. But we must know His voice and respond. And you can hear Him all day long. But if you don’t respond, what you have is faith without works.

“If you read the Bible in context, it’s very clear. The gifts of the Spirit are for today. With the prophetic, it is life changing. I could tell you thousands of stories about the voice of God changing people’s lives. It edifies us, it encourages us, and it builds our faith. And nothing is more important than that.”

For more on how to hear the voice of God, listen to the entire podcast. And, be sure to tune in to Self Talk with Ray Self on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}

Many years ago, a movie came out that I didn’t watch because I don’t watch scary movies. Real life provides enough opportunities to fight against fear.

The title of the movie was The Silence of the Lambs. While I didn’t view the film, I did hear about one particular scene. In this scene, in order to escape capture, the character played by Anthony Hopkins cuts off the face of another man and places it over his face so that he would appear to be the other man.

The idea of a man putting on a temporary covering to appear different than we are is nothing new. This concept has its roots in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and realized they were naked and G-D provided them skins to cover their nakedness. The problem with these temporary coverings of skins is that they are temporary. The longer the skin from another creation exists apart from the dead animal, the more it deteriorates and rots.

The truth is, ever since the day that G-D provided those skins for Adam and Eve to temporarily cover the results of their sinful actions, man has been trying to cover his sins in this same way. The problem with man’s attempts to provide his own covering is the temporary nature of his attempts.

G-D provided Yom Kippur as an annual reminder of the temporary nature of man’s best attempt at providing a covering for his sins. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, or covering. You can read more about it in Leviticus 23.

On this day, once a year, the high priest would offer a special offering to cover the sins of Israel. However, this offering, even if it was done exactly as commanded, would only cover the sins of Israel until the next Yom Kippur. This is because the covering provided by a death is temporary.

This year, as with every year since the giving of the Torah, Jewish people all over the world will gather together. They will fast and spend nearly the entire day in prayer in their synagogues. Yet, when they leave their synagogues, they will leave with no assurance that their sins will be covered. One reason they have no assurance is that there is no temple standing and no priest to make the sacrifice, so they have no actual covering, even a temporary one.

So because Jewish people have no actual Yom Kippur offering, their Yom Kippur service is all about their effort to pray hard enough and repent fully enough that they will die to themselves enough to become a replacement for the required offering.

No matter how hard they try or how sincere they are in their efforts of fasting and prayer, they will not be able to fulfill the requirement for the year to year offering that would provide covering or atonement required in the Torah. So at the end of the Yom Kippur service, instead of leaving the service with the joy of knowing that their sins are covered, the Jewish people leave their Yom Kippur service with absolutely no assurance that they are in right standing with G-D. The Jewish people are G-D’s sheep, yet they leave their Yom Kippur services as silent lambs on a day that was designed by G-D to provide a joy-filled assurance of a temporary covering.

This is because today, with no temple or priesthood, the Jewish people do not even have a way to provide for themselves even the temporary covering for year to year.

But there is Good News! When the temple was destroyed, G-D didn’t leave His sheep with no hope, nor did He intend for them to remain silent. Not at all! The truth is that before the destruction of the temple, G-D had already provided a covering for not only the Jewish people, but for all mankind. This covering was different from the annual sacrifice that had been offered on Yom Kippur because this covering would not decay, as we read in Psalms 16:10 (TLV):

“For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol nor let Your faithful one see the Pit.”

This covering was different from the annual sacrifice because it was once and for all time, as we see in Hebrews 10:12-14:

“But on the other hand, when this One offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God waiting from then on, until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected forever those being made holy.”

And this covering was different from the annual offering because the covering provided is not from something that died; it is from Someone who was resurrected, which is why we are commanded in Galatians 3:26-29:

“For you are all sons of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were immersed in Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed—heirs according to the promise.”

Today, the Jewish people, and all of those who choose to accept the eternal once-and-for-all-time covering provided by Yeshua (Jesus), can observe Yom Kippur and walk in the service on this most holy of days knowing with complete assurance that their sins are not just forgiven and covered for another year, but they have been covered or atoned for forever.

As believers in Yeshua, it is our commission to spread the word of this good news to every creature—to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The message of Yeshua’s perfect atonement is the reason that we, as G-D’s lambs, should never be silent. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is the author of Overcoming Fearlessness, What If Everything You Were Taught About the Ten Commandments Was Wrong?, With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer, Jesus Is to Christianity As Pasta Is to Italians and Galatians in Context.

A joint delegation flew to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in August for normalization talks between Israel and the UAE. On this first, direct-commercial Israeli-plane to fly directly to an Arab Gulf State were the words “Shalom, Saalam, Peace.”

Stepping off this hopeful and historic flight, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s 39-year-son-in-law and point person for pursuing peace in the Middle East urged others in the region to “Join us, expand peace …”

Kushner thanked the Saudi government for allowing the historic flight to cross Arabian airspace. “Mohammed bin Zayed is truly leading the new Middle East,” he said. “The Middle East is filled with brilliant, industrious, tolerant and innovative people, and the future belongs to them,” Kushner added. “I ask everyone today to join us in celebrating this peace, and to help us expand it throughout the region and the entire world.”

A New Future for the Middle East?

Rather than nursing old wounds, with regard to Israel’s birth, victories and prosperity, the Jewish-American Kushner suggested the younger Arab leaders should rise now above those old issues and join together with Israel and other Arab nations to create a new and prosperous future for the Middle East.

Within weeks the Gulf nation of Bahrain had opted for this new future and joined the procession for peace and prosperity.

President Trump said the subsequent “Abraham Accords” (Peace Agreements), signed at the White House on Sept. 15 between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, will “increase stability, security and prosperity” in the region. He invites and expects more Arab countries to join in the peace and prosperity pursuits.

It seems the modern leaders of these historic Arab states have come to recognize that the 72-year-old nation of Israel (many years older than most signing the peace agreements) is not their enemy and could be their friend. The expansionist roles of Iran and Turkey have caused them to be viewed by many as the villains of the region and not tiny Israel.

In part, this is because the sectarian nature of modern Islamism has made Shite-strong Iran and Iraq the religious enemies of Sunni-based Arab states. Added to that, the historic and cultural backgrounds of Iran and Turkey predate even Mohammedanism. Iran is really ancient Persia, and Turkey longs to become again the controlling power of an Islamic caliphate of Mediterranean states. The tribal instincts of these authoritarian leaders still long for that historic recognition and power for them and their people.

Pestilences, Pandemics and Peace

While the world is struggling to overcome the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, on the one hand, this refreshing wind of peace and prosperity is blowing on the other hand. The birth pangs and sorrows of pestilences, persecution and pandemics (Matt. 24:7-13) are beginning to be glimpsed in some areas and arenas as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. But, simultaneously, peace and prosperity are also prophesied for some in these last days.

The prophet Daniel was told (Dan. 8:23-25, NASB) that a mighty king would arise in the end times, through skilled intrigue, shrewdness and deceit, “but not by his own power: (v. 24b).This insolent and proud one will destroy “to an extraordinary degree,” (v. 24c), while at the same time peace and prosperity will be enjoyed by many. He will be able to do pretty much as he pleases, while the peoples he controls are “at ease.”

Some believe this “lawless one” will be European (from the old Roman Empire). Others see him as a deceiving Islamist or even a persuasive, secular Jew. Oddly, he will show his ultimate disdain for the Jews and their God by sitting “as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4b, MEV).

Understanding the 70 Weeks

The angel Gabriel informed Daniel that the time of Jewish captivity in Babylon was part of a time frame of “seventy weeks” [or “seventy sevens”—understood as weeks of years].

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until the Prince Messiah shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of trouble. After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war, desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator (Dan. 9:25-27).

These weeks of years (490) are 360-day “prophetic years,” as established by comparing Dan. 7:25 with Rev. 11:2-3, 12:6, 14 and 13:5. They are divided chronologically, measuring first the 49 years (“seven weeks”) it took to rebuild the second temple after captivity in Babylon and then the 434 years (“sixty- two weeks”) from the temple’s rededication until the crucifixion of the Jewish Messiah and our Lord, when He was “cut off” (Dan. 9:25-26).

When Will the Son of Man Come?

At some future point, a “prince who is to come,” shall confirm a covenant (peace agreement or defense pact) with many for one week (seven years—completing the prophesied 70 weeks of years). But in the middle of that final week (after 3.5 years) that prince shall bring an end to sacrifice and offerings on the “wing of abominations.” Additionally, see Dan. 11:31-39, 12:1-3 and Rev. 17:10-14; 19:11-21.

Jesus referred to this sequence and personality in Matthew 24:15: “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)” He went on to describe the “signs” and “coming” of the “Son of Man” and the “gathering” of His chosen ones—”immediately after the tribulation of those days” (vv. 21-31).

When will the “Son of Man” come? Jesus taught His coming will be “immediately after the tribulation of those days” (Matt. 24:29a).

Will you commit now to faithfully “endure to the end” (24:12-13), by showing courage under unjust suffering and persecution, steadfastly keeping the commandments of God and the faith and testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:17, 13:10, 14:12)?

What Happens Before the Day of Christ’s Judgments?

Finally, the apostle Paul taught the Thessalonian believers that certain indicators will happen before the day of Christ (2 Thess. 2:1-10), when we are gathered together to Him (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:23-26, 51-58). A great apostasy or falling away will occur first and “the man of sin” will emerge or be revealed. Some translations call him “the lawless one” and then include “the son of perdition.” This wicked one is described as the Antichrist in the letters of John.

Jewish history acknowledges an anti-type of this Antichrist in one named Antiochus Epiphanes (about 167 B.C.). He was a fiercely, ungodly monarch from a northern Syrian kingdom who captured Jerusalem and desecrated the temple there, sacrificing hogs on the holy altar and seeking to be worshiped as divine.

This intertestamental historical account points to this culminating action of the final man of sin, when he invades a modern, restored temple in Jerusalem, mid-way through the future final-seven-year “week,” when Daniel’s vision (Dan. 9:27), Jesus’ prediction (Matt. 24:15) and Paul’s prophecy (2 Thess. 2:4) are all fulfilled.

At that time, Messiah will literally come with all His power and glory to defeat the Antichrist and his armies (-21) and Satan will be bound for 1000 years! Then he will be “cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10)!

Meanwhile, we whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will begin to enjoy a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) and “God will wipe away every tear … there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain” (v.4). Hallelujah!

Filled with this happy hope, let us—together with the apostle John in Rev. 20:20—say “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Gary Curtis served in full-time ministry for 50 years, the last 27 years of which he was part of the pastoral staff of The Church on The Way, the Van Nuys’ California Foursquare church. Now retired, Gary continues to write a weekly blog at and frequent articles for digital and print platforms.