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Vision for the End Times in Your Prayer Life

Filed under: End Times, Intercession

There are many things that can give us a sense of urgency in our prayer life. This can range from sickness of family or friends, praying for a crisis in the land or praying for an upcoming election.

However, in addition to the urgency these things bring, we want to have an overarching urgency in our prayer life concerning the Jesus’ return to earth. When we study what the Bible has to say about the future we are empowered to be victorious in love and power during the most glorious and difficult time in history. It prepares us to actively participate under Jesus in the end-time events and to rightly interpret Jesus’ leadership in the coming global crisis, instead of being offended by Him (Matt. 11:6).

Studying the End Times awakens urgency in us for intercession, knowing that our prayers may minimize evil and increase victory. Understanding end-time scriptures strengthens our confidence in God’s sovereignty by knowing that He is in control and is never surprised.

When you look at scripture you find that most of the prophets spoke about the future “Day of the Lord” which relates to the events of Jesus’ coming. There are actually more than 150 chapters in the Bible where 51% or more are focused on the end times.

In light of the overwhelming amount of information the scriptures have to say about the End Times we should be preparing ourselves and others for the King’s return to the earth. The key to preparing is to consistently and prayerfully study what the scriptures say about the End Times. Jesus called this “watching.” Daniel received revelation of God’s prophetic purposes for this generation by diligently studying what God’s Word said about it (Jer. 29:10-14). He embraced a lifestyle of Bible study with prayer and fasting (Dan. 9:2-4) to receive “skill to understand” (Dan 9:22).

Tags: End Times, Intercession, Luke18, Urgency

Vision for Leadership in Your Prayer Meetings

Filed under: End Times, Intercession, Intimacy, Justice, Leadership

Once you have started your prayer meeting and you have a few weeks, months or even a year under your belt, how do you sustain it? How do you keep your prayer meeting going week after week? How do you fuel people to keep the fire burning? You must have vision, and your vision must be fueled by the message.

Most people will try anything once, but there must be a vision for something greater than yourself, greater than your meeting in order to sustain your prayer meeting over years. Your vision must transcend your own ability to accomplish goals, yet also be clear enough for people to wrap their mind around and get behind.

Your vision must also be founded up on the message. Here at IHOP-KC we have determined 4 primary pillars that fuel everything that we do. These 4 pillars are intimacy with Jesus, intercession, end-times, and justice. The messages that come out of IHOP-KC will fall into one of these categories and the direction that we are headed is filtered through these as well.

I have found even in my personal life that setting these 4 areas as a foundation for personal devotion, bible study and setting up an action plan for the Word has catapulted my time with God. My encouragement to you is to make your vision personal. Give yourself, your time and your energy to your vision in a personal way, not just for “your ministry.” Let the vision God has given you be your guide regardless of if you “have a ministry” that is leading others. Once you have a vision, get an action plan for the Word based on your vision and begin to unpack the layers of that vision. You can’t sell others on your vision if you are not sold yourself.

Tags: Action Plan, End Times, IHOP-KC, Intercession, Intimacy with Jesus, Justice, Leadership, Luke18, Message, Prayer, Prayer Meeting, Sustaining Prayer, Vision

Allison Moseley on Revelation

Filed under: End Times

Allison Moseley is a missionary at IHOP-KC and is on the Afternoon Prayer Room Leadership Team as a Section Leader and Production Manager. She also serves on the leadership team of the E12 End-Times Small Groups Department at IHOP as the Director of Operations.

I asked her to write an article on the End-Times and what she thought was important at this time. You can read more from Allison at her blog www.raretune.com.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation: (noun) The act of revealing or disclosing; Something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something not previously known or realized; A manifestation of divine will or truth.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ: What is this mysterious work that remains the most misunderstood book of the Bible? Is it for today? Is it relevant to our understanding of Christ Jesus? Is it really that important for our faith? Is it just there for enjoyment of the random and rare elite scholar? Or is it something to be read… heard… kept.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

Indeed, it was God the Father who commissioned Jesus to reveal more of His majesty to His Church. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants… (Rev. 1:1) For you see, the time for divine revelation had come, and in His glory Jesus revealed Himself as the Bridegroom King who will judge all that hinders love as He prepares to take over the earth. We see both a blessing and an invitation in Revelation 1:3. Again, in Revelation 22:7, we see another promise. These beatitudes bookend the prophecy in Revelation as an encouragement to believers to take the prophecy seriously so that we would receive the revelation of Jesus’ majestic personality and plan with understanding, and engage the content of the book in active partnership.

We are to READ the book of Revelation, and not just privately. As a community of believers, when we read aloud the words of this prophecy, it helps us intentionally keep this powerful testimony of Jesus at the center of our daily walk. The Church is hindered by the loss of this prophecy. Without His revelation, our understanding of Jesus weakens and we are left with an ethereal, fuzzy concept of a God-man unknown. As the sovereignty and supremacy of Jesus fades to more sensible modern notions, singing from an overflowing heart of wholehearted love and adoration gives way to intellectualism and stale religion. Jesus’ return becomes an abstract concept not a concrete plan to hasten His coming through dynamic partnership.

We are to HEAR the words of this prophecy. Truly hearing the Lord happens by the power of the Holy Spirit as He searches the deep things of God and makes them known to us. This is the reception of divine insight as God releases the Spirit of wisdom and revelation unto our understanding. Hearing takes place when our spiritual senses are awakened to the truths contained in the book and suddenly the content shifts from the realm of principles to be pondered to the place of living understanding that demands a response. When we really hear His testimony in this prophecy, we gain understanding of the personality, power, and plan of Jesus in the End-Time drama!

We must KEEP the words of the Revelation of Jesus. The Greek word for keep means “to guard” from loss. Blessed is the one who guards the content of the book in a way which takes the details seriously. The content of God’s word is to be activated in the life of the believer, igniting a fiery zeal within us as we long for the return of our Bridegroom. This prophecy is an invitation for hastening the day of the Lord through active participation. Which generation will read, hear, and then keep the prophecy? Which generation will come into the revelation of Christ that produces the faith to keep the prophecy? Who will come into agreement concerning the time is at hand and will embrace the Lord’s desire to come establish justice on the earth?

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7)

Tags: End Times, revelation

7 Simple Actions to Prepare for the Return of Christ

Filed under: End Times, Intercession, Intimacy, Justice

God is calling a generation out from among the crowds. You may have noticed if you look around that people are clamoring for change; for something that lasts and will make wrong things right. This type of change and revolution will ultimately come to fruition upon the Return of Christ to the earth to setup His government.

However, we can hasten His return and prepare ourselves and others while bringing tokens of the kingdom to come to our society now. Just like John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ 1st Coming, God is calling many to prepare the way for His 2nd coming.

Here are 7 simple actions you can take to be a voice and prepare yourself and others for the return of Christ:

1. Pray Daily
   Whether you are a full-time student, in the marketplace or on the mission field prayer is essential. The great men of God throughout history guarded their prayer time with God and usually spent hours a day in prayer. Take 2 hours every day to pray and then read through the book of Revelation (click here for an Overview of the Book of Revelation) each week and work it into your schedule. Maybe that means cutting 2 or 3 tv shows out of your life. It’s worth it. He’s worth it.
2. Fast Weekly
   Regular fasting makes us more aware of our weakness and brokenness and need of God. Fasting does not bring us closer to God or make God more pleased with us. However, when we become aware of our great need of God and voluntarily seek to be poor in Spirit leaning on our Beloved, we inevitabley position our hearts in the right place to receive more of what God is freely giving.
3. Speak Boldly
   If you have discovered the amazing truth of the free gift of salvation and God’s eternal love and desire and PLAN for you, then this is something you don’t want to keep to yourself. Speaking boldly about the truth of who Jesus is, what He has done and His soon return should be second nature for those who have gained so much through God’s mercy. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t worry about what people will think. Speak Boldly!
4. Do Justly
   There are many injustices going on in the world today, and they are not all over in 3rd world countries. Many are right in our backyard or being legislated in our courtrooms. Get involved in making wrong things right, in issues of justice. Even just the simple things like buying a homeless person a meal or volunteering at a shelter on the weekend.
5. Give Extravagantly
   The Bible speaks about money more than any other topic. The love of money is the root of all evil. So be a generous giver on a regular basis. This does 2 things in a very practical way: 1) By giving money away regularly (especially when you do it in secret), you are building up for yourself treasure in heaven and 2) By giving money away regularly you are very practically causing your motives and your heart to be pure and undefiled. God will bless the giver, so give it away!
6. Live Holy
   God is coming back for a pure and spotless bride. He will perfect His people, but we have to let Him. We have to position ourselves to receive the grace and strength in our lives to live righteously. This doesn’t mean that you will be 100% perfect and never sin, but if our pursuit is for 100% obedience, and we are actively declaring war on those areas that trip us up… in God’s eyes our sins are as far as the east is from the west.
7. Lead Diligently
   Start a bible study. Lead some people to Christ and follow-up with one-on-one discipleship. Make a goal, talk to your current leaders, get some training and lead. People will follow if someone is leading.

Tags: End Times, Intercession, Intimacy, Justice, Sacred Charge

Revelation: 7 Main Symbols

Filed under: End Times

Inside of the “Angelic Explanations” or (parenthetical sections), we find these 7 main symbols. When we look to understand the book of Revelation and to interpret its meaning, we should interpret Revelation in the plain sense reading of the text (the literal interpretation). It’s numbers are literal unless the Scripture specifically indicates that they are symbolic.

Here are the 7 Symbols and their meanings.

1. The dragon: is always symbolic of Satan (Rev. 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4; 16:13; 20:2).
2. The first Beast: is symbolic of the Antichrist (Rev. 13; 14:9-11; 17:3-17; 19:19-21; 20:4, 10).
3. Another Beast: is symbolic of the False Prophet who is only called, “another Beast” one time (Rev. 13:11).
4. The 7 heads: are 7 empires from history that persecuted Israel (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, revived Roman Empire of Dan. 2:41-42; 7:7, 20, 24; Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3-16).
5. The 10 horns: speak of a future 10-nation confederation of ten kings (Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7, 12-14, 16-18).
6. The Harlot Babylon: will be established in the literal re-built city of Babylon on the Euphrates River in Iraq as a worldwide demonic religious and economic center (Rev. 17-18; Jer. 50-51).
7. The Woman with the Mail-child (Jesus): the woman is the faithful remnant of Israel through history (Rev. 12:1-5). Satan wars with her offspring who are Gentile believers (Rev. 12:17).

Tags: 10 Horns, 5 Chronological, 5 Parenthetical, 7 Bowls, 7 Heads, 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, Antichrist, Babylon, Beast, Christianity, Dragon, End Times, Eschatology, False Prophet, God’s Wrath, Great Tribulation, Harlot Babylon, Interpretation, Jesus, John, Prophecy, Rapture, revelation, Satan, Symbolism, The Bride, The Woman

Revelation: 5 Chronological & 5 Angelic Explanations

Filed under: End Times

Revelation: 5 Chronological & 5 Angelic Explanations

In the last article in this series I laid out the 4 Part Overview of the Book of Revelation. Part 4 is the story line of the book unfolding here on earth. It spans from chapter 6 to 21, so putting it into one part of a 4-part overview doesn’t help much unless we unpack it. So that is where this next part comes in.

5 Chronological Sections

As the story line unfolds, there are 5 sections of the book that happen in chronological order, we call these the 5 Chronological Sections… very clever, I know. These 5 sections give the details, as they happen in succession, in which God’s judgment on the Antichrist’s empire unfolds on earth.

5 Angelic Explanations

During the process of unveiling the story as it happens in order, from one thing to the next, there is a pause in the story line. There is a pause after each of the 5 Chronological Sections. This pause allows for further explanation to give details and insight into what happens to God’s people. These sections answer some of the tough questions such as “Why is God’s wrath so severe?” and “What will happen to the saints?”

Chronological Section #1: Seal Judgments (Rev. 6:1-17)
- Angelic Explanation #1: Protection from judgments and falling away (Rev. 7:1-17)
Chronological Section #2: Trumpet Judgments against Antichrist (Rev. 8:1-9:21)
- Angelic Explanation #2: Direction by increase of prophetic ministry (Rev. 10:1-11:13)
Chronological Section #3: 2nd Coming Procession (Rev. 11:15-19)
- Angelic Explanation #3: Confrontation against saints by Antichrist (Rev. 12:1-14:20)
Chronological Section #4: Bowl Judgments (Rev. 15:1-16:21)
- Angelic Explanation #4: Seduction by Bablyon’s evil religion (Rev. 17:1-19:10)
Chronological Section #5: Triumphal Entry (Rev. 19:11-21:8)
- Angelic Explanation #5: Restoration of all things (Rev. 21:9-22:5)

In the next article in this series I’ll go over the 7 Primary Symbols that occur in the Angelic Explanations.

Tags: 5 Chronological, 5 Parenthetical, 7 Bowls, 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, Antichrist, Babylon, Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, God's Wrath, Great Tribulation, Jesus, John, Prophecy, Rapture, revelation, The Bride

Revelation: The Basics

Filed under: End Times

Here it is in its most basic form. It’s not difficult, and it’s not my opinion mixed in with interpretations, it is just a plain sense reading of the book of revelation and breaking it down into 4 parts.

4 Part Overview of the Book of Revelation:

1. John’s Calling (Chpt. 1)
2. 7 Letters (Chpts. 2, 3)
3. Jesus Takes the Scroll (Chpts. 4, 5)
4. Jesus’ Battle Plan (Chpts. 6 – 21)

Simple. It is of course missing the details, but its a great way to approach the book.

So now that we’ve figured out that it isn’t so difficult to wrap our minds around, let’s just look at these 4 sections  and break it down a little further.

Part 1: John’s Calling to prophecy about the end times (Chpt. 1): In chapter 1 John is given a commission to prophesy in writing the things he has seen through the lens of Jesus’ majesty.

Part 2: Jesus gives 7 Letters (Chpts. 2, 3): In chapters 2 and 3 Jesus is speaking throughout the 2 chapters and giving the 7 churches exhortations to be overcomers.

Part 3: Jesus Takes the Scroll (Chpts. 4, 5): In chapters 4 and 5 Jesus takes the scroll and given His mandate to take over the earth. In these chapters we also get a glimpse of the throne room of heaven.

Part 4: Jesus’ Battle Plan (Chpts. 6 – 21): In these chapters we are taken through the story line of Jesus’ actions to cleanse the earth (Great Tribulation). In these passages there are 2 main literary sections:

1. 5 Chronological Sections (the chronological order in which God’s judgments unfold on earth)
2. 5 Angelic Explanations (the story line is put on “pause” to answer important questions)

Tags: 7 Churches, Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, Great Tribulation, Jesus, John, Overview, Prophecy, revelation

The Book of Revelation is for Everyone

Filed under: End Times

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place.” (Rev. 1:1)

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Rev. 1:3)

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.” (Rev. 1:7)

I’m not a super theologian. I also haven’t yet heard the audible voice of God. Yet I know that the book of Revelation is meant to be read and meant to be understood. It’s the only book in the Bible that has both a blessing for those that read, hear and keep the words of this book, and a curse for those who add to it or take away from it.

This book is one of those in the Bible that many avoid. People read the good parts of course; Many times when they start to read the Bible in any regular fashion most want to see what happens in the end. They see that we win and many times that’s it. That’s good enough for them. They don’t hear about it too often from the pulpit, and they aren’t encouraged to study it. 

If however, they decide to push a little farther, they then come upon the seals, trumpets, and bowls, the beast with 7 heads with 10 horns, and some woman and a dragon who wants to kill her offspring.  Usually, because of the symbols, people think they can’t really understand the symbols and start to avoid those parts because they think they don’t apply to their life today.

So many say to themselves (even if they aren’t aware of it) “I’ll take the good stuff and not worry about the stuff I don’t get” and they leave it at that.

However, this is a dangerous place to be. From this place people may begin to take scripture out of context and misunderstand the very truths Jesus wanted us to know. Also a very deep motivation for living for the age to come lies dormant and people fail to develop vision to live for more than this life, believing that either “we won’t be here” or “it will all pan out in the end”.

I’ve heard people say “It’s too difficult to understand” or “it’s not meant for general reading.” 

All of the Bible, including the book of Revelation, was meant for everyone to read and understand. Sure, you may not get it on the first go-around, but go back a 2nd time and a 3rd (The Bible isn’t meant to be read once). Also, throughout history the majority of the people in the world have been uneducated peasants. This book, as well as every other book in the Bible, was meant to be understood in its plain sense reading of the text as read by an average reader. It is NOT meant for only the elite, PHD, highly intelligent, super theologians of the world and then explained to the rest of us. 

However, it does help having a road map of the book going into it. It’s not necessary, but makes the book of Revelation so easy to understand that a 6 year old can get it. So in the next few posts I am going to be laying out a road map of the book of Revelation. It’s pretty basic, but makes for a great guide in your journey through the book.

Tags: Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, Jesus, revelation

Revelation: A Series

Filed under: End Times, Featured, Knowledge of God

The book of Revelation is meant to be read and understood by everyone not just the scholars. This book gives us more information about the severe coming crisis than any other book in the Bible. As the body of Christ, we are responsible to know and act on this information.

Below is a series of articles to jump start you in your journey through the book of Revelation and ultimately help you to pursue knowledge of God. By reading and praying through this book you will get to know the leadership of Jesus at the end of the age.

1. Revelation: Is For Everyone
2. Revelation: The Basics
3. Revelation: 5 Chronologicals & 5 Angelic Explanations
4. Revelation: 7 Primary Symbols

Tags: 5 Chronological, 5 Parenthetical, 7 Bowls, 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, Antichrist, Babylon, Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, God’s Wrath, Great Tribulation, Jesus, John, Prophecy, Rapture, revelation, Series, The Bride

Top 3 Reasons You Should NOT Study the End-Times

Filed under: End Times

3. We’ll all be strumming harps on clouds for thousands of years anyway… what’s the point?

Once we finish standing in the long lines at the pearly gates, are introduced to all of our favorite bible characters, and say hello to the big guy and ask him all the questions nobody had answers for here on earth, and we have full knowledge and understanding… we will be given a harp and a cloud. It will be a very special harp, and a very special cloud, because to God… you are very special. Yes, you will not get bored and will have no need to do anything of value… just think of it as a fully-funded retirement; the American dream times 100. So why bother?

Is God is going to bring heaven and earth together at the 2nd Coming of Christ? Having made known the mystery of His will, will He gather together in one ALL things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him? Seriously, if heaven and earth were joined together and believers could interact with both the heavenly supernatural realm and the earthly physical realm that would be rather mind blowing… and very distracting from the harps and clouds reality everyone is so excited about.

What I want to know is who started the rumor that Jesus is coming back to rule and reign as King of Kings on the earth and that we would be here with him forever? Somebody needs to investigate this and get back to me!

2. Jesus is a heavenly Santa Claus and is committed to making my life easy in this age.

Jesus understands my needs and desires and as long as I am going to church, giving to the poor and doing more than my other Christian friends, He is committed to giving me the desires of my heart. I am working hard to make sure the house I live in and the car I drive matches up with the church culture around me and makes me happy. Jesus wants to make me happy. Why would I need to study about the end times if Jesus is just as committed to me obtaining the American Dream as I am?

It’s not like I would learn anything about Jesus by studying His leadership and heart at His 2nd coming. I’ve heard some of those who talk about this Jesus who is a zealous Bridegroom King coming to establish His Father’s glory, vindicating His persecuted Bride and replacing all evil governments on earth by dashing nations and executing heads of nations that refuse His leadership… but that doesn’t sound at all like anything I would go through as a Christian. Jesus wouldn’t allow me to suffer persecution, so I have no idea where they got their information. Besides that would totally wreck my lifestyle if I actually had to believe that.

1. Studying the end-times will not affect my Christianity today. It’s irrelevant, a waste of time, and distracting.

If I studied the end-times in a focused way it would distract and pull me away from other subjects in the Bible that are more important and pressing in the day we live in NOW. This subject takes would-be kingdom workers and makes them into theoristic, eccentric Christians who seem to put the topic of Jesus and His coming to be with us and our desire to be with Him AHEAD of loving our neighbor and bringing others to the knowledge of Christ.

… wait a second …

[goes and reads Mark 12:28-31]

… now this is awkward.

Tags: 2nd Coming, Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, Jesus, revelation, santa claus, Satire