Dare to Hope

I had a vision yesterday. First, I saw a wave moving across the land, shaped like one of those tubular waves that surfers love. It was not made of water. It was made of locusts, and fire followed it. Then I saw fireworks in the sky, and the Lord said, “See, I am going to do a new thing.”

This is not the first time I’ve had a vision of locusts and fire. In the previous one, when I asked God if this could be prevented, he replied, “Look around you, it’s already burning.”

He also assured me, and instructed me to tell others, that “Those who dwell in the Kingdom will not be harmed.”

God uses two kinds of prophecy: historical prophecy and apocalyptic prophecy. Historical prophecy reveals events that will happen in the course of human history. For example, the fall of Israel and Judah, the Exile, and the return of the remnant to Israel were all predicted by the prophets and occurred in our historical timeline. Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple which happened in 70 AD.

In contrast, apocalyptic prophesy predicts what will happen when God reveals and fulfills his final plan, at “the end times.” These prophesies deal not with individual nations or persons, but with the eventual form of God’s Creation, including the New Heavens and the New Earth. The nations are conquered. There is one ruler, and that is Jesus. But here’s where it gets confusing: The “end times” were inaugurated with Jesus’ resurrection. The battle against evil was won. The Kingdom was established… but not fulfilled.

For example, Joel writes,

I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. (Joel 2:28-32)

The first part has already happened at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has been poured out, and that will not be undone. Prophesy and visions have returned to the people of the Lord. But the second part has not yet happened. We live in the times between the inauguration and the fulfillment.

So are my visions of locusts an indication that the end is upon us? Probably not. God still works in human history in the lives of nations and people.

It should be clear to all of us that we live in a nation that fails to live up to God’s commandments. We worship wealth (You shall worship no other Gods but me). We reward the accumulation of wealth (Ah, you who add field to field…). Our system seeks the lowest possible wages to make the products we use (Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts). We wear $200 jeans made by folks who make two dollars a day (The laborer is worthy of his wage). We use cell phones and laptops made with cobalt mined by children as young as 5 years old (Children are a heritage from the Lord). We blame the poor for being poor (Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy). We burn the earth’s resources like there’s no tomorrow (For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children), and we think nothing of it (Your wrath has come, and the time for… destroying those who destroy the earth).

In past visions, God has told me that any parent, when words fail, will find other ways to discipline their wayward children. We are his wayward children. We have failed to heed his word. We have great potential to do good in the world, but we consistently fall short.

Bear fruit worthy of repentance. (Mt 3:8)

Where is our fruit? We export weapons. We resist helping refugees. We resist anything that infringes on our fossil fuel addiction.

Where is our fruit? Suicides are up 200%. Overdoses are up almost 300%. Mass shootings are up. Antidepressant use is up. Does this sound like a nation that takes joy in the Lord?

If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (James 2:15-17)

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Look at your way of life. How much has it changed since you professed your faith? Does your way of living cause others to look at you strangely? If not, maybe you should look again.

It’s never too late to change. One of the consistent patterns in God’s prophecy is this: warning, punishment, forgiveness, and redemption. The sooner we repent, the less punishment we receive.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:10)

But those who are stubborn receive the full wrath of the Lord.

Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. (Ezekiel 7:8)

We’re stubborn. We don’t even like to admit that we have sinned. So let us contemplate John’s words:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Reflect. Confess. Repent.

It’s not too late.