As we proceed into these most interesting of times, we are coming into unprecedented opportunities for the gospel. At the same time, there is an obvious and accelerating collapse of the spiritual, moral, political, and economic foundations of America, as well as most nations in the West. If these trends are not checked and reversed soon, we will see lawlessness growing in an increasing and merciless rage. As this happens in America, it will also happen in Europe, only with greater intensity. Western civilization is tottering on the edge of a meltdown.
Of course, since we are called to be the salt and light to this world, this is not what we should want to see happening. If this happens on our watch, it will be because the salt has lost its savor and the light was too dim. If we are the salt and light that we are called to be, then we will be able to reverse the trends of evil that are taking over our nations.
However, to have the power to save our nations, the church must come into increasing unity. This is a reverse of the trend of disunity that is happening in the nations. As we see old alliances among nations breaking down, we will see greater alliances being formed in the church. Spiritual authority is increased with unity, and only the spiritual authority of the church will be able to save our nations from the impending meltdown. However, if our unity is political, or even for the purpose of saving our nations, it will not be real or substantial enough or accomplish its purpose. We must come into unity because it is the will of the Lord for us to be in unity. We are unifying around Him, not just political, social, or economic issues.
If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, then your prayers tonight would certainly be focused, especially on the things that are the dearest to your heart. Therefore, we can conclude that the prayer of Jesus the night before He was to be crucified revealed the deepest desires of His heart. The main thing He prayed for was the unity of His people. Our first priority in anything we do, if it is a true kingdom purpose, is to seek the kingdom first, not the kingdoms of this world. However, this does not mean that we do not care about our nations and seek their welfare, but we must keep the first thing first.
If the churches in America and Europe do not unify and stand for the truth of the gospel with great courage and boldness, prophetically refusing to compromise His truth, they will be subject to increasingly brutal persecution. The longer we wait to stand up, the more difficult it will be to turn the tide of lawlessness back. We are very close to the tipping point where it will be beyond recovery.
Many Christians feel that the collapse of the nations is inevitable and is the will of God. This collapse is certainly prophesied in such places as Daniel 2, and therefore we can be sure that it will be ultimately inevitable. However, one basic strategy of the devil when he knows he cannot stop something is to push such inevitable events into happening prematurely so that the kingdom manifestation on the earth will not be ready for it.
This strategy of the devil can be verified with many historic examples, but we do not have room to address them here. If the collapse happens in the proper timing, the kingdom that is represented in Daniel 2, by the little stone that grows into a mountain and then covers the earth, will be prepared to take authority and establish order as the human kingdoms collapse, not leaving a vacuum that would result in much death and destruction. For this reason, we should be in constant prayer for our governments and leaders because there can hardly be a worse plague upon any nation than anarchy and lawlessness.
We are actually tottering very close to the edge and have come close to going over the edge a few times in the past year, which has been documented and verified by members of Congress in both the Bush and Obama Administrations. This is why there was such a panic in the economic emergency last September.
So what do we do? The most important thing we can do is to seek the King and His kingdom first above anything else. It is time for the little stone in Daniel 2 to grow, and if we are Christians living in these times, we are here to accomplish a purpose. The actual way that this will unfold will become increasingly clear. For Christians who have not lived their lives seeking first the kingdom of God, their own foundations will not stand but will crumble with all of the others who have been shaken in these times. For those who have sought the kingdom first, they need not have any fear or anxiety, but they will have to have a proactive faith, becoming those spoken of in Daniel 11:32, “but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.”
It is time for action, and we will be addressing this specifically in the coming weeks.