“He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16-17

In March, I wrote Part 1 of “As the World Turns”. My message focused on the first two “turnings” indicated in this prophesy spoken to Zecharias about his son, John the Baptist. The third turning is the least understood and yet will be the most exciting of all. While the first two turnings reference Israel, and then the Church, the third phase will impact the entirety of God’s creation. Literally, the “disobedient” are going to be made ready to meet their captivating and merciful Maker. The word disobedient (Gr. apeithes) used here is also translated rebellious, and means unable to be persuaded. The picture you get is that even those who are the most calcitrant, hardened, and stubborn will undergo a complete and radical transformation, compelled to turn their hearts completely over to God their Savior. These words prophesy of a mighty day of harvest which will gather in the multitudes of humanity just before the appearing of Jesus from heaven. Wow!

These verses reveal more than just the fact of a mighty revival. They give us a clue into the means by which this outpouring comes. How does God get the attention of these “disobedient” masses? Certainly His miraculous works on behalf of his covenant people Israel will play an important role. When the whole world seems set in array against them, and yet they survive, and thrive, and finally turn their hearts to their longed-for Messiah, many will be awestruck. The same God who led His people out of Egypt, whose story is still being told 3500 years later, has said to Israel “you will be my witnesses” yet again (Isaiah 43).

Then God is going to pour out His Spirit in an unprecedented way upon His sons and daughters. This time, the manifestation will not be local, or regional, but global. Rochester, NY in the days of Finney, and the nation of Wales in the days of Evan Roberts were but a foretaste of what God will do among all the nations (panta ta ethne, MT 28:19) in the last days. The beautiful Bride of Christ will come into her fulness. Her authority will be without equal. Signs and wonders will be done by old and young in the days prophesied by Zechariah when “the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David” (12:8).

Yes, God will have mercy upon His covenant people, the Jews. And yes, He will copiously pour out His precious Spirit upon all those who call upon His name. But there is yet another key which the angel gave to us to unlock the rebellious in the last days. Gabriel calls it “the wisdom of the just”. What exactly does this mean?

I don’t pretend to have the whole picture of what this verse is unleashing, but I believe the prime target for God’s wisdom is the marketplace. Beloved, think of it this way. The “rebellious” have been fed their versions of “reality”. The “wisdom” of this world, in its attempt to exclude God and discredit God’s Word, ultimately leaves people lost, confused, bereft, and angry. The more aggressively peoples across the earth pursue the agendas and promises of dark and narcissistic rulers, the more perplexed they become. Rattled rebels will come running to a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. Bound and broken peoples will yearn for an escape from a crooked and perverse generation. Suddenly, they’ll come streaming out of the shadows as the Morning Star rises in their hearts (2 Pet 1:19).

The ways of the just are good! Consider the words of David:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold.”
Psalm 19:7-8

Get ahold of this! God is going to make a distinction in the last days. Men and women with David-like courage will do great exploits. People who carry Joseph-like anointings will again find solutions to complex problems “in order to preserve the lives of many people” (Gen 50:20). Daniel-like visionaries will interpret mysteries which will attract the visionless, opening the eyes of modern-day Nebuchadnezzars to “praise and extol and honor the King of heaven” (Dan 4:37). When God says the disobedient will turn to the wisdom of the just, then we have to believe that in that hour God is going to grant us a wisdom which so exceeds what we can know by learning or experience. This wisdom is not like some Green New Deal, lofty notions like castles in the sky to which there is no elevator. The answers God downloads are compassionate and pragmatic, solutions which achieve the elusive aspirations of equality and justice for neighborhoods, communities, and nations.

Just when we don’t think it could become any darker, glory will shine upon the children of God. The whole of creation is beginning to groan in earnest expectation for the revealing of the sons of God (IS 60:1-2; Rom 8:19). God is raising up a just people who will exhibit extraordinary wisdom in our day. I wanna be right in the center or it all, as the world turns.