“Arise, shine; for your light has come!” IS 60:1
I have been hearing numerous people I respect say the same thing: a glorious shift is taking place in the spirit. From a purely scriptural standpoint, this should be expected—or to put it another way, we should be expecting it. Please note there is a subtle yet important difference between these two responses. The first is passive; the second active. When two people get married, it is expected they will have babies some day. When they are pregnant, we say they are expecting. Ask them if there is a difference!
Isaiah illustrated this shift when he prophesied darkness would cover the earth and thick darkness the people. He continues…at the very same time the Lord will arise over us and His glory will be seen upon us. I think it is without a doubt that a significant blanket of darkness has begun to cover the earth. I interpret the first darkness reference to be external—in the world stuff. It could be COVID, riots, locusts, increased warmongering, intrigue or scandal, etc. Although it is common to interpret thick darkness as poetic, I believe it refers to the internal world—darkened understanding and/or blackened hearts which are falling prey to deceptive forces, becoming incapable of discerning truth or justice. Even blind Bartimaeus could see this is happening all around us!
We shouldn’t be alarmed and we certainly should not be caught unawares by this sudden turn of events. When darkness increases around us the Hound in our spirit picks up a scent. We apprehend glory can’t be far away. This is why these two months I keep coming back to the story of the wise and foolish virgins. According to the parable, the foolish virgins weren’t ungodly or corrupt. They were a part of the wedding party. They were virgins! Everything had been rehearsed. They were clear about what they were supposed to do, but they took too much for granted. They procrastinated. They had lost a sense of urgency and therefore lacked preparedness.
The wise virgins had oil—lots of it. Despite the late hour, when the Bridegroom arrived the “oil shops” seemed to be open 24/7. How else could the foolish virgins go out and buy in the middle of the night?! Jesus is revealing End-time truth: Holy Spirit is more available, more accessible now than He has ever been at any time in history. If glory came down in sprinkles in the past, the Spirit is saying get ready for the rain. The foolish virgins did not suffer from a lack of supply; they suffered because they were simply too casual and content with what they had.
As a pandemic and chaos highlight our news cycles, it is imperative we don’t miss the real story of what is happening in this hour. As usual, Satan doesn’t get it. He thought when the church’s doors closed we’d become vulnerable and weak. But something spontaneous and global is surging tsunami-like behind the scenes. If you have not seen it or learned of it yet, mark my words—you will! Trust me. I know people all over this planet are experiencing a marked increase in grace, Presence, intimacy, revelation—yes, in light and in glory.
Me too. I do not recall a time when I have had such rich and sustained morning devotions. The time just flies by, and I wake early because I look forward to get to the secret place. I am also waking each morning having spent my nights dreaming. This is new. Over my lifetime, I have always been one who hardly ever remembers his dreams. When others have talked about their dreams, I have always felt like an outsider. My curiosity led me to specifically seek God to grant me dreams on many, many occasions. Then something extraordinary happened. I went to minister at Heidi Baker’s Harvest School in Mozambique and had dreams every night. That was so cool!
Since then, I have dreamt more than I used to but still nothing too get excited about. But for the past two months I have been dreaming every night. I am discovering patterns and messages. Nearly all of my dreams have a China theme, for instance, and definitely includes me having conversations in Chinese.
Beloved, portals of power are being opened. The plumb line which we are seeing drop will divide people. What kind of virgin will you be? I for one do not want to be numbered among the foolish ones who were passive and ill-prepared. As thick darkness moves in to intimidate and distract, we will all be rewarded with more access to light and more manifestations of glory if we follow the example of the wise virgins—pressing in to God with sober, tender, and expecting hearts.