KNOWING THE WORK OF GOD AND HIS ALL-ENCOMPASSING PLAN

As Christians who are waiting for the Lord, it is our daily responsibility to lift our eyes to heaven, carefully studying Scripture to understand the signs of the last days and the coming of Christ. If you are a diligent student of the Word, you will notice that the generation we live in is the one prophesied to witness the Second Coming of Christ.

Two key reasons confirm this:

This is the generation witnessing the rebirth of the “fig tree,” which represents the nation of Israel (Matthew 24:32–34).
We live in the seventh and final church era described in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, which will conclude with the rapture. There will be no church era after this one. This final church era began at the start of the 20th century (around 1900) and will culminate with the rapture of the church.

Furthermore, the Bible predicts that before the bride of Christ ascends to heaven for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, faith must first manifest within her (Luke 18:8). This faith will make her worthy of being taken; otherwise, the church cannot progress to the level of spiritual maturity God desires. Therefore, for these things to occur, there must first be a great awakening and outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that God’s chosen can reach the perfection He expects in His church.

As Joel 2:23 says:

“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the early rain for your vindication, He has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.”

Here, the Bible speaks of the early rain and the latter rain. The early rain fell on the day of Pentecost, marking the birth of the Church (Acts 2). But there is also a final outpouring, the latter rain, which will perfect the church before its departure from this world. Its glory will surpass that of the first church. Haggai 2:9 confirms this:

“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former,” says the Lord of hosts.

This final revival will manifest power unlike anything the church has witnessed since Pentecost. The spiritual gifts and works of the Holy Spirit predicted by Joel will reappear in fullness. Joel 2:28–32 (Acts 2:16–21 references the fulfillment at Pentecost) says:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

While part of this prophecy has been fulfilled in visions, dreams, and prophecy, the heavenly signs—blood, fire, darkness, and cosmic phenomena—will occur during this final church revival. Similarly, Revelation 10 speaks of seven thunders whose messages are reserved for the bride of Christ alone. Those outside the plan of salvation will hear only the thunder without understanding.

The Lesson for Today

Even the disciples, after witnessing Christ’s resurrection and His authority over all things, struggled to comprehend God’s timing. They thought the Messiah’s kingdom would immediately restore Israel and punish the nations. They focused on their own nation rather than the wider mission of salvation for all peoples.

Acts 1:6–8 says:

“So when they had come together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’
He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”

We live in that same period where the harvest is ripe. Knowing this, we must focus on bearing fruit for God now, rather than waiting for a future outpouring. Many delay service, waiting for the “perfect time,” and in doing so, they accomplish little for the Kingdom. Ecclesiastes 11:4–6 warns:

“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind or the bones in the womb of the mother, so you do not know the work of God who makes all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and do not withhold your hand from watering at evening; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”

God’s work cannot be predicted; it is beyond human understanding (Ecclesiastes 9:11, Romans 11:33). Therefore, if God gives us the privilege of being His witnesses, we must labor diligently, producing as much fruit as possible today, instead of waiting for the “perfect” moment.