The prophetic perspective of

Current shift in season

Part 3

A signpost to the future

by Isaiah-Phillips Akintola

 

The book of Daniel gives a clear prophetic insight and direction into the nature of the days ahead, and at the same time, offers an accurate, in-depth biblical interpretation of what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to his Church regarding the principle of navigating the ongoing crisis. Crisis, trials, famine, disaster, and other various forms of tribulations have all been part of the human life since the fall of the first man in the garden. From the day, Adam was sent out of the garden to this present moment, man has witnessed various types of tribulation one could ever imagine.

However, there can be no suffering or tribulation compared to what our Lord Jesus Christ faced on the cross when he laid down his life for the sin and redemption of the entire human race. And the good news is, anyone who will acknowledge this eternal price paid on the cross for his or her sin will be saved and have eternal life. This is one good news that will never change regardless of what may be changing around you.

The devil, the enemy of man, has always used various forms of needs, trials, and tribulation to try to break the human will to submission. Yet, for those who have truly been branded by the redemptive nature of God’s Spirit and life, are never submerged by his trick; no matter the level of the pain or disappointment they may suffer.

In John chapter four just after the forty days fast of Jesus Christ in the wilderness of Judea, the enemy came with four main levels of temptation or trial to test the quality spiritual state of Jesus Christ, and of course, Satan was defeated.

These four stages of temptation can be categorized into three main streams; 1]. The lust of the flesh 2]. The pride of life 3]. The deceitfulness of riches.  All other forms of temptations and sin can be categorized into any of these three blocks, and it is highly important we understand this concept as we deal with the issues of global challenges.

  When you carefully consider the present state of your own personal challenges, or that of your family, community, or city, it’s easy to point out where the issue of the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, or better still, the deceitfulness of riches is playing a major role of influencing issues.

What happens to us on a personal, family, or community level, are all directly influenced by the general national or global impact. For example, the rise of fuel price, or health insurance does impact us on a personal level.  Since we now live in a world of global connectivity, the thing said or done at any state or level carries a spiral effect on everyone globally, and this impact could either be positive or negative, it all depends on who is taking advantage of the global interconnection.

If the church refuses to take advantage of the new global platform, the enemy will certain use it to its advantage. It is highly important the church understand how a global digital world can positively or negatively affect everything, from relationship at home to how we buy and sell in the marketplace, and we must learn to manage all of the 21^st century realities.

The truth is, the agony of failure and the disappointments we face based of a relational disconnection either at home or at the workplace becomes an effective weaponry the enemy uses in trying to cripple and demobilize most believers, particularly, those who have been overburdened by financial or material needs.

If you are going to triumph as a strong follower of the Lord in this epic season, you must be willing to overcome the deep, inner desires of the flesh [lust of the eyes, the pride of life and the deceitfulness of riches] and soul because they are the gateway of the enemy into our lives.

One of the truths the present apostolic Christianity is mandated to restoring, is the ability to learn how to abound and a base in all things. The capacity to gain mastery over needs, give us the power to subject the spirit of pride that surfaces through what we possess.  The false power or confidence that manifest through what we possess is a clear indication that our will, desire, and emotion are yet to be wholly submitted to the eternal authority of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Learning to keep our spirit, soul, and body under the governing influence of Christ, despite what we may need, or facing as an attack, is a strong reflection of a well branded apostolic grace within us as Christians.

Abundance and lack, are two extreme realities the Body of Christ is still struggling to comprehend and accurately handle with firm apostolic spirit. These two [abundance and lack] remain the most effective tools in the hands of the enemy in terms of manipulating the emotional and spiritual disposition of most believers. Indeed, the ability to buy and sale is now proven to be the defining factor of must Christian faith today, and no longer the unconditional love and passion they claim to have for their heavenly father.

How many have lost faith, hope, and love because the bank institution has repossessed their car and house. How many individuals, families and businesses today are in huge debt due to the pressure of trying to maintain their lavish lifestyle?

The spirit of the anti-Christ

One of the main powers of the anti-Christ lies within the spirit of trade and commerce. The Scripture informs us that people will not be able to buy or sale except they have the mark of the beast on their forehead and right-hand. This basically means that those who will give in to the spirit of the beast will be those who truly don’t recognize their identity and position of authority in Christ.

The forehead does not exclusively represent the faculty of thinking, but also the location of our core identity and creative imaginative grace. Such person who gives up their authority and identity are certainly clueless with regards to their purpose and assignment, to the degree that what they possess is what determines their security and happiness. Such low quality of existence makes it very easy for the man of sin, the Antichrist to rule over them.

Receiving the mark on your right hand simply means that you’ve abdicated your heaven given authority to rule on the earth by coming a slave to that which seeks to control and seize your identity of rulership to reign in life as a king, priest, and a prophet you’ve been destined for before time began.  You’ve given up your ability to have a voice in the earth in terms of changing the cause of the thing. You’ve become a slave to your own appetite and passion like Esau, who sold his birthright for a pot of soup.

The inability to wait for the salvation of the Lord will cause many to lose out. The lesson here is Saul. King Saul was asked to wait for the prophet Samuel for seven days before engaging the Philistine in battle. However, Saul could no longer wait by the sixth day when he saw his army being scattered and the nation crossing over the Philistine said due to fear. Saul then decides to offer the sacrifice of himself, hoping the Lord will accept the sacrifice regardless of who offers it.

Saul was wrong and he certainly was judged because he lacked the ability to constrain himself from a priestly office he was not designated. The discipline to restrain or constrain ourselves from things and people is a high watermark in the life of a true follower of Christ.

For those who are yet to learn how to gain mastery over the anxiety and the pressures of life will certainly find it highly difficult to stand against the spirit of commerce. Some people have become addicted to the spirit of buying and selling. Their entire life structure is wrapped material possession.

The intense pressure of material and emotional needs of the last days has found a good foothold over them. In as much as the revelation of complete surrender and dependence on Christ provision and protection has not become an engrained reality within the inner construction of once existence, the enemy will always have a place of attraction over your soul.

Poverty, the spirit of neediness is an ancient weaponry the beast and the kings of the earth have always used to manipulate and control their subjects. Unfortunately, it is still the most effective way leaders of today’s society use in controlling their citizens.

Eighty percent of the wealth of the world is in the hands of twenty percent of the richest Western countries. It is said that eighty percent of this wealth is illegally acquired from the African continent.

However, Africa remains the poorest continent in the globe. These miss anomaly and vast disparities need to be an effective address if the spirit of equity and transformation must prevail in the 21st century society, or else, the world will continue to face defragmentation.

Having said this, we must never allow the enemy to use lack or needs at any level to push us into compromising our identity and redemptive heritage in Christ. The values of education, integrity and dignity should be maintained at all levels as we press further in achieving what we have been destined for as kingdom representation in the earth.

Developing the wisdom to engage the spirit of poverty on a higher ground should be encouraged as educational capacity and skill are sought with all courage and determination. Maintaining our focus to engage the 21st century with the mentality to manifest the glory of the kingdom of God should be our key intention and desire.

Anyone willing to compromise his God given identity or position to receive the mark of the beast due to a temporary challenge must understand the consequence at all levels. Pressing into the reality of the future demands that we regain our creative identity in engaging the spirit of Babylon and Egypt without compromise.

As we move within the times and the seasons of the Lord, we must understand when the voice of the Lord is leading us to go buy grain Egypt, or becomes a cup bearer, or even become a dream interpreter for some of the most powerful politicians of our day.  Whatever you may face in this journey of representation should be viewed as a motivating force to reach the point where the mountain of the Lord’s house becomes the highest of all mountains.

We must not only learn to resist the deception of human disappointment by perpetually putting our love, faith and hope in Christ alone, but also resolve within our spirit not to allow temporal needs or lack to derail us from pressing into the day of fulfilling our prophetic destiny.

The Lord promised to be your shepherd and you shall not want… The testimony of the triumphant Church is their ability to overcome all forms of emotional and psychological treats and trials without compromise. Paul highlighted seven intense encounters believers are bound to face as the day of darkness closes in, and each one of the trials must be thoroughly overcome with unconditional Love for Jesus Christ and his Body. The big question we must now ask ourselves is, is the love of God increases in our hearts to the point that we are ready to face the seven mountainous challenges?

Romans 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

Once again, I will like to state that what is happening across Europe, America, Israel, and the Arab world is not the end of the world like some would want us to believe. Rather, this is the beginning of a new era in human history that is reshaping the ideological landscape of man’s theology concerning God’s sovereignty and authority. Many have assumed the Lord has no say in the affairs of man, and therefore, they must come up with their own solution and answer to the present economic and political needs.

The huge amount of resource and wealth that has been stockpiled by Europe and the West seem not to be enough in dealing with the humongous challenge before them. Everything seems to be failing without remedy, yet, the solution is right before their eyes, if only we can be humble enough to let God open our eyes to see the solution. It is now obvious that God is now speaking profoundly from his throne concerning the destiny of man as his hand presses a hand on nations across the earth. The future is no longer predictable as before.

The day of the Lords Jubilee

Whatever form of wealth nations has accumulated in the name of injustice will be returned in this day of the Lord’s jubilee. This is the day of jubilee! God is setting his people free from all forms of bondage and slavery across nations. Acknowledging our injustice and wickedness is a major healing balm in this day of the Lords vengeance.

The pride of the nations is come to naught as the Lord stirs up himself like a sleeping lion ready to devour its prey. Whatever the nations are hoping in as their future security are all coming down like a house of cards. The towers and wall of false defense are coming down without answer. God is revealing himself as the only future end of all men.

Trust me, nothing will escape the path of this spiritual hurricane blowing across the land and regions of the earth. For those in high places who still assume they are still in charge should rethink because their world is passing away with a great noise while a new world order, designed by the King of kings and the Lord of Lords is being ushered in.

Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the one ushering in a new world order according to the book of revelation and not the antichrist and the world would have us believe. Everything the enemy is doing out there is a direct counterfeit of what they learnt in the kingdom of God.

The nations are crying for leadership

In this context, members of the Body of Christ should view what is happening across the world at her moment of greatness and opportunity to build momentum towards developing the spiritual structure needed in fulfilling her prophetic apostolic destiny. The signs across the globe today are all pointing towards one major need, which is authentic leadership.

We have told in time past, that leadership is not a title neither is it a mere position of authority; leadership is a creative, spiritual competence that goes beyond administrative skill to seeing and understanding the very nature of {people} things for what they are, and being able to accurately offer a tailor-made solution according to divine direction. In other words, where academic and intellectual skill reaches, is where those with the true nature of spiritual competency in leadership starts to lead. You cannot separate leadership from the Spirit of divine guidance according to John chapter 13.

The challenge of leadership

To leader at any level, you must have an insight into the reality of the challenge before you.

Jesus Christ portrays the life of a true leader. He did not only use his influence to make people do things as most leaders are taught in business schools, he had the ability to [discern] see deep into the very source of each problem, and exercise the necessary authority, prescribed by his heavenly in addressing the problem.

He dealt with the root that produces bad fruits. Isaiah chapter three shows us the values, characteristics of what makes the quality of Jesus leadership spirit an exceptional, and how he administrates his leadership quality.  Not basing leadership on what we see with our natural eyes, or judged by what we hear with our physical, outer hearing faculty is one of key traits of sound, biblical leadership grace.

Leadership goes beyond just the solving problems to changing human hearts, and the regional spiritual climate that influences the activities of men.  The main challenge of leadership at all levels is to precisely find how to change the inherent fallen human nature that seeks to negatively corrupt and interfere with divine order.

It is clear that the issues the society is faced with today are way beyond natural occurrence. Therefore, to resolve the challenges, those with spiritual insight and the competent spiritual capacity should avail themselves in the matter of governance and leadership in all spheres of human affairs.

 How many people today are failing in the so-called secular arena because they listen to the lies of the enemy that says they must not mix their spiritual life with their secular business. Diving your life into spiritual or secular space is one of the devil’s greatest deception you could ever buy. You have one life, and that one life is expressed in various spheres of your existence. In other words, you must get a clear definition of your assignment, and then let your God given gift or grace to guide you on how to exercise authority within such an arena.

The same Spirit that sustains your personal prayer life or marriage also sustains and enhances your productivity in the marketplace. If you’re spiritually cannot be fully expressed and felt in your political career as a believer, how do bring lasting transformation to the complex issues within your constituency? Believers are quick to forget that the whole essence of spirituality is to release divine life wherever there is darkness or destruction.  This is what Joseph represented in Egypt and Denel in Babylon.

The word of God says we are the salt of the earth, how can we season nations and regions when we don’t even believe we have what it takes to sustain or bring transformation to societies. What is my point? The wisdom of this world, according to James, is failing rapidly; it is time believers who are filled with the Spirit of God allow the father to reposition them where they can be of use in offering the best solution and direction to the present national or global crisis.

This is the beautiful story we read in Acts chapter 6. When Stephen and the rest of the disciples were chosen to represent the church regarding the distribution of food, we see the qualification required. That standard has not changed, the world is desperately in need of leadership with the quality of the Spirit that can resolve the issues of character deforming in the corridor of government. The Lords administrative capacity can work to resolve the challenges before the nations if believers will just let the wisdom of God direct their steps.

Acts 6:3-4

3 Therefore, select out from among yourselves, brethren, seven men of good and attested character and repute, full of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we may assign to look after this business and duty. 4 But we will continue to devote ourselves steadfastly to prayer and the ministry of the Word. AMP

The kingdom of God is a living reality, growing in the hearts of all who have taken the call to transit out of Babylon, the system of humanistic wisdom. While we may be in Babylon, we informed never to allow the values and philosophy of Babylon to impact our views and moral standard of quality, kingdom decisions.

Understanding what is happening

If there is ever a time where the wisdom of God needs to be display is now. What is happening in earth today is the clash of two systems.  The life and authority of these kingdoms cannot be seen with the naked eyes, but their influences and power are highly felt across the globe. As the Lord continues to use the issues in Europe and the rest of the world to awake his sleeping Church to her responsibility, we will see a more proactive and strategic, apostolic ecclesia, emerge with divine wisdom and authority in leading the cities and nations out of their predicaments.

The Lord is using the ongoing global crisis to draw the attention of his Church and the nation’s first to his sovereignty, secondly, to the principles and mode of his redemptive plan. The priority of the heart the father is to see nations reform and restore back to him. He will use whatever means and method to make this clear for all to understand. This is the day of the Lords harvest. Whatever we desire to do for the Lord must be seen in this context of this present prophet mandate.

Each nation and regions of the earth have their unique role in Gods prophetic activity as he continues to shake the foundation of many generations; therefore, what is happening in one region should not be generalized, rather, it should be viewed in the context of the awakening of the spirit of such regions to the voice of the Lord. As this continues to happen on a national and global scale, I will like to remind you that it is already taking place even on an individual, personal stage.

These are the days of huge predicament for individual families and businesses. Many will assume the Lord has deserted them because of the impact of the trials they will be facing, especially, in the area of marriage relationships and personal financial challenge. The security and philosophy, we have embedded will be greatly tested as I have said earlier.

Everything in our lives that can be shaken will be shaken to its foundation. It is a day to learn how to read the handwriting of the Lord on the walls of our lives, lest we become disappointed and ultimately abdicate our stand. The ability to precisely identify and make sense of what is taking place around us is a major advantage, unfortunately, very few have learned to be quiet within their soul in times of trouble so they can hear the voice of the Lord.

One of the very first lesson prophet Jeremiah learned, as any other prophetic generation is the ability to identify the true meaning of what is sees. If we cannot make sense of the issues in and around our lives, we have no means of direction or solution. Thus, we should be asking ourselves now is what is, what is the significance of what is taking place globally? The only person that can give us a clear answer is the Spirit of truth himself.

The scripture says, when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth without exception. May the Lord give us the spirit of inquiry in this season. John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. NIV

Is the church ready for governance?

While the issue of regime change may be prominent on the agenda of what has been dubbed as the ‘Arab Springs’. There is no doubt, that the major challenge in the Western world is the lack of fiscal discipline in the capitalist driven economy. For a long time, the key major problem in Africa has been the complete lack of managerial leadership competence. It is a known fact that Africa is the richest continent in the world, yet, poverty and every other form of human limitations finds their residence in the region. Her huge resources are continually plundered and wasted dictatorial leaders and the so-called foreign investors.

The context of these enormous regional challenges needs to be made clear to the church, as each part will require unique apostolic skill and insight in dealing with them. Unfortunately, our lopsided understanding regarding matters relating to diplomacy in international relations is indeed limiting our level of interaction and collaborating capacity with politics and governance in high places.

Government institutions do not recognize the position of the church in contributing to national and internal development because the church in the past has portrayed herself as a needing organization. Unfortunately, they seem to be right because all we see from church leaders is the accumulating of liabilities with very little assets.

The Church still has a long way to go in understanding the purpose of wealth, prosperity and influence regarding nation building and socioeconomic reform and transformation. This form of limitation has made it even more difficult for her to be positioned in the corridor of political and global interaction, yet the church relates to more humans on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis than any other government institution on the planet.

Gearing for a David mentality

There is no doubt that politics comes with a certain degree of influence and power that if not handle with an excellent spirit, powered by the values model of a sound, internal governmental spirit, compromise, and corruption are inevitable. However, it is important that we state that the Lord places the church on earth as his representative to engage with all authorities and powers regarding the redemption of man from all forms of corruption.

Therefore, the concept of apostolic Christianity seeks to engage the philosophies of man as it seeks to offer the best solution to the pressing crisis. David showed us a lesson to learn when he faced a similar enemy in the person of Goliath. Goliath is a type of the present socioeconomic crisis the world is faced with, to defeat this spirit, you and I need to absolutely know our true position and identity in Christ. We need to be well dressed in our mentality like David, who knew how to receive command and direction of the chief commander of the army of Israel, the Lord of host himself.

The Davidic anointing is highly needed in our day for the society to be free from her present threat. The Lord through his sovereign {intervention} plan has always positioned a prophet {seer} to help guide the decision of the king. The Job descriptions of these men and women sometimes called the King’s prophets are to help inject the right moral values and sound wisdom to the decisions that needs to be made by the king on behalf of his kingdom.

These men and women may not be accepted as prophets by the definition of a religious system; however, their influence plays a key role in shaping the outcomes of the decisions made by leaders of their generation. Due to the limited understanding regarding the role of religion and politics, many have allowed the ideology of {church and state} circularized philosophy to hinder them from participating in the transforming process of their society.

The condition of bad managerial capacity witnessed in most governments circle across the world is indeed a signpost of the need of well skilled, Spirit filled men and women with character and integrity in the corridors of government.

The world is desperately in need of true leaders whose lives have been entrenched in the core values of the fruit of the Spirit and the capacity to govern. The nature of the fruit of the spirit can only be express fully outside the corridors of the Church organization. Meaning, the life transforming capacity given to the church is best utilized amid the ongoing darkness covering every facet of human existence.

The people of the world are already confused and in desperate need of a solution. The present global challenges require the principle of present truth in operation within core structures of government if society is going to witness lasting reforms and transformation. Custodians of present truth are those who have embraced the present reformation voice, being declared from the present apostolic house the Lord is building.

 

When heaven shakes the earth

God is presently transforming and restoring the earth back to its original state, and this requires a complete collapse of everything man has ever built in a name of a church and unity. This is one of the reasons most of the key socioeconomic global institution’s old policies are failing without anyone to give them answer to what is taking place.  The more they try to fix one problem the next one shows up even a more complex issue.

The division within a man’s structure is really showing up in every area of his existence. Indeed, a house divided against itself cannot stand. What a day of the speakings of the Lord. It is difficult for the UN to come into agreement on the issue of human violation in Syria and other parts of the Arab Spring, due to some very powerful countries’ interest in the war.

We are seeing a weak, divided UN like we’ve not seen it before. We are also seeing that it is becoming more difficult for the EU to agree on a common solution in dealing with her present financial crisis, and the way forward for the bloc as United Kingdom will not accept the principal policies offered by the EU. All these are reflections of the inability of fallen man to govern himself.

The response of global institutions regarding the ongoing crisis in the world so far has indeed expose the fragmentation in the ideology of the so-called {UN, EU, AU, and Arab league} alliances, and has also proven the fragility of the human moral structure in saving society, especially the poorest, marginalized communities.

The fact that government across the globe cannot give their citizens precise definition of what is causing their economy to shut down with all the stimulus package of recapitalization and devaluation of very stronger currencies, is causing millions across the globe not just to panic but almost going insane.

This is the day of the Lord, and if you will listen, you will hear his voice with clarity. For the hand of the Lord is not short to save, if we return to the Lord, he will return to us with mercy and grace.  Awake sons of God as the Lord, shake the foundation of many generations.