Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her sons.
Isaiah 66:8
Currently, we are in the midst of a global crisis. Theories, rumors and opinions are abounding as people struggle to gain an understanding of what is going on. The most often asked questions are, “Where is God?” and “How could God let this happen?” Still others are declaring that the end of the world is just around the corner. How do we make sense of these events? As a prophetic voice to the Body of Christ, at the onset of these events, I began listening to the voice of God in a deeper way. I remembered Revelation 2:29: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” What is God saying now? In my times before the Lord, listening and waiting, here are some things I perceived God was doing in the midst of the current crisis.
- A Global Reset of the Church. ” While the world is experiencing levels of quarantine now described as “sheltering in,” the Lord has brought the Church into a global shabbat. During this time, God is resetting the Church. Rather than functioning from a kingdom perceptive, religious traditions and formalism have held the Church captive. Reset means “to set again” or differently. As the term implies, reset becomes necessary whenever something is broken. Many aspects of the Church are broken and do not reflect the heart or intent of God. Their brokenness necessitates the need for reset. This global reset will awaken the Church to her kingdom identity and purpose.
- Church leaders are being reset. In the Spirit, I saw pastors who had gone to their church buildings. Instead of working in their offices, they were lying on the altar crying out to God. I could hear Romans 12:1,2. These leaders were asking the Spirit of God to transform them. When I listened to their cries, I could hear prayers of repentance. They were filled with conviction over having let the Hollywood mentality and the spirit of commercialism invade their churches, which resulted in people exalting these worldly passions over God. These leaders were asking the Lord to renew their spiritual passion, which had died. Some pastors, who were living in a backslidden state but continuing to preach each Sunday, were repenting. Others had become weary and felt that it was time for them to retire. I heard the voice of the Lord declaring over them: “You are not finished yet. There is more work that remains to be done.”
- Diabolic plans have formed and are being initiated. The Spirit of God impressed on me that the Church must ask for revelation. There is an occult spirit covering the diabolic plots that are being planned but the Spirit of God will cause light to shine in the darkness. There is an agenda of one-world government that is being planned in the darkness. It is a time to “see.” The nations have imagined a vain thing (Psalm 2:1; Acts 4:25), but the purposes of the Lord will stand.
- The Church is at war. The next 2-5 years will be a continuation of warfare against the Church, but we will prevail. Each cycle of warfare will come to an end and be followed by an interval of rest. After rest, it will be time to war again. It is important for the Church to gain understanding of spiritual warfare during this time. Learning how to war in faith, using the spiritual weaponry we have been given, is key for this season.
- The Church will return to prayer. A new global prayer movement will begin. I saw prayer rooms being filled. The Church will return to prayer in unprecedented ways. Outside churches, men and women were lining up, waiting to attend prayer gatherings. Prayer rooms were filled. This global prayer movement will serve as the catalyst to the release of signs, wonders and miracles.
- Global Revival. As the Church returns to prayer, a powerful harvest cycle will be unlocked. There will be stadium gatherings where men and women of God will form powerfully effective apostolic teams, ministering in the miracle, healing anointings. The focus during these gatherings will be on Jesus, and not an individual.
- Coronation of the Lord. I saw the Lord processing through the current and subsequent crisis. I could hear powerful worship gatherings where Jesus was being crowned in the worship. He was taking notice of how the nations were either coming to Him or resisting Him. This current crisis will serve as a catalyst to people turning to the Lord. Nations will recognize their need for God and begin to seek the Lord. As things become increasingly difficult, many nations with restrictions on the Church will recognize that Jesus is the true King and will lift the restrictions.
- Apostolic Centers will increase. As the Spirit of the Lord spoke, I could see the across the Earth. There were fires in many places. I could hear the Spirit say: “Apostolic Centers will form in many nations. These Centers will become hubs of My glory.” I sensed a shift in the way many churches will gather. Rather than focusing on gathering large numbers of people into one place, there will be a focus on multiplication of apostolic centers for greater harvest effectiveness.
The Church is coming into her finest hour. In the midst of the plans of the enemy to silence her, the Church, fully shifting into her identity will arise in faith. Over the next ten years, there will be a global invasion of the Church into every sphere of society. The Church will make great acceleration and advancement. There will be great warfare, but there will also be great victories, great glory, great manifestations of the Spirit of God and great harvest. Weapons will form, but they will not prosper. As Zion travails, she will bring forth her children. This current crisis is but a catalyst to launching the Church fully into her identity and revealing to humanity their need for God. We have been given Christ for the crisis. Through Him, we will prevail.
Dr. Venner Alston is the author of Next Level Spiritual Warfare: Advanced Strategies to Defeat the Enemy. Her book can be purchased on Amazon or wherever fine books are sold. Her second book, Prayers, Decrees and Confessions to Defeat the Enemy, can be purchased directly from her website here. Order your copy today!
