The Great Shaking: Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls – Part 7

Four in the blood, two in the spirit, one in the Glory

The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ contains the most information regarding the process Jesus has selected to return in power and begin making all things new in order to prepare the earth for the return of the Father. God has declared that what was very good in Genesis 1:31, mankind with God, face to face, on earth, is going to be restored for anyone who wants it. If you want it, all you have to do is participate in the rescue operation, beginning with counting Jesus’ perfect sacrifice of His just and perfect life as your own, in exchange for your sacrifice of a less than perfect life that He wants to make His own. This is a beautiful exchange, and a really good deal for mankind! Jesus is in the process of making all things new, including everyone who wants to be made new. If you don’t want to be made new, you don’t have to be, but only those made new can survive the brightness of His presence coming to earth. His presence will literally burn up everyone who doesn’t want to be made new. This will be very unpleasant…described as a lake of fire:

This is life, as always intended by God:

Revelation 21:3-5 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (4) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (5) Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

This is death, an allowable choice because God refuses to force anyone to have life if they don’t want it. God doesn’t want anyone to make this choice, BUT, He is for freedom and love:

Revelation 20:13-15 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. (14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Participating (called works) in the rescue operation is ESSENTIAL. Your works matter because they are material evidence of your choice for life or death. Works don’t save you, and you don’t need discipline for the works. In fact, works that spring from simply discipline won’t work either. Wholehearted love that produces a heart response of natural obedience…natural participation in the rescue operation…is what is essential. This is essential because God has chosen to relate to us in love. He will never force life on anyone.

Matthew 21:28-32 "But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' (29) The son answered, 'No, I won't go,' but later he changed his mind and went anyway. (30) Then the father told the other son, 'You go,' and he said, 'Yes, sir, I will.' But he didn't go. (31) "Which of the two obeyed his father?" They replied, "The first." Then Jesus explained His meaning: "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. (32) For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn't believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

James 2:14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

John 14:15 "If you love Me, obey My commandments.

Now, many are in the earth, even many that cast out demons, heal the sick and prophecy, all in the name of Jesus, and they aren’t participating in the rescue operation from a place of wholehearted love. This is a bad idea. This is why:

Matthew 7:21-27 "Not everyone who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. (22) On judgment day many will say to Me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.' (23) But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God's laws.' (24) "Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. (25) Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. (26) But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. (27) When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."

Jesus is serious about coming back to earth. He expects His family to be serious about it, too! Jesus could rescue the whole earth single-handedly IF He wanted to. But He doesn’t. He wants me to get to know Him as well as possible by agreeing with Him. He made everything so He gets to choose how He does stuff:

John 1:3-5 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Knowing God…learning to choose His leadership over yourself or someone else’s leadership IS THE POINT. Even being as active as healing, prophesying, and casting out demons if it is for anything less than participating with the Lord in His on-going rescue operation…called abiding in Him…is less than is required to participate in this rescue operation.

John 15:4-5 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (5) "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Many are distracted by their own design of what life should be like, and are missing the very intense thing Jesus is working to accomplish. God is the potter and we are the clay. He has chosen a very specific plan to get all those who would choose Him to actively participate…in one accord, with what He is doing. In fact, in His brilliant plan, God has chosen the LEAST intense means necessary, to reach the greatest number of people, to stir themselves up and take hold of Him at the deepest heart level, without ever violating their free will…without ever violating love. The Bible describes the “least intense means necessary” as the “Great Tribulation.” The stain of selfishness on the human heart is so dark and deep, it takes REALLY strong soap to clean it.

Isaiah 64:7-12 And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities. (8) But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. (9) Do not be furious, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people! (10) Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. (11) Our holy and beautiful temple, Where our fathers praised You, Is burned up with fire; And all our pleasant things are laid waste. (12) Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O LORD? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

So, the point is, before the foundation of the world, God has had a plan in mind to allow THIS reality to happen even in spite the fact that Adam and Eve broke the perfect expression of it in the garden:

John 17:20-24 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (21) that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (22) And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: (23) I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (24) "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

God desires everyone be with Him…heart soul, mind and strength…but He forces no one. So, He has formulated a plan to make everyone who wants to be “one” with Him, His first disciples, and all those who came after them….the great cloud of witnesses…in one generation. Soon, we will all experience this same reality in “oneness”:

Revelation 7:14-15 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (15) Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

You see, in heaven, right now, there is a day and night prayer meeting going on…it has been going on forever, and all the saints that have gone there are now participating. In the generation that sees Jesus return, everyone in God’s family will participate in day and night prayer on earth, and all the saints in heaven and all the saints on earth will be in agreement…one. Whenever heaven and earth agree, a “corridor of glory” is created and supernatural stuff starts happening on earth. Jesus promised this would happen:

Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (8) I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

How many people will Jesus find that are actually doing the stuff with faith that produces works? The answer: as many as possible! Jesus’ plan is designed to move people that love Him into the places that are doing night and day prayer on earth. This is because the kingdom needs to come to earth in advance of Jesus returning…we call this revival…and global revival is going to come to the places that are doing this “everybody meeting in one accord” thing. This is the promise God made to Moses in Leviticus 26, as well as many other people, including the prophet Joel. I call this the “Joel Harvest Pattern” and it works like this:

1. God gives rebellious mankind what it wants, which is simply freedom to try life apart from Him…to cast off His leadership.

2. This produces a crazy amount of trouble on earth. When people who love God’s leadership see the trouble a brewin’ they get together and repent (agree with God) on behalf of the earth. They do this night and day, contending for revival, just like the first disciples did, and the Holy Spirit is poured out, just like in Acts 2, but global.

3. God’s people start going into the earth doing miracles in the power from on high received by ABIDING first, God’s Glory from heaven is manifest in earthly agreement, and more people get saved. Rinse and repeat until the end, as heaven comes more and more to earth. God wants everyone saved.

This is what Joel promised:

1. Trouble a brewin’ on the horizon:

Joel 2:11 The LORD is at the head of the column. He leads them with a shout. This is His mighty army, and they follow His orders. The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can possibly survive?

2. People come together in one accord:

Joel 2:15-16 Blow the ram's horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. (16) Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.

3. The Holy Spirit gets poured out on the solemn assembly AFTER they have abided, so that everybody gets saved that wants to:

Joel 2:28-32 "Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. (29) In those days I will pour out My Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. (30) And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke. (31) The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives. (32) But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the LORD has said. These will be among the survivors whom the LORD has called.

The plan God designed produces salvation (good) and trouble (also good, but you need the right perspective to see it as good…you need to be “one” with Jesus in the plan). The right perspective is to see that God’s plan for trouble is all designed to SAVE people, not harm them unnecessarily. This takes understanding. That is why Revelation says this a few times:

Revelation 14:12 This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying His commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

This plan Jesus has is to have the end time Bride be even more victorious than the Acts Church. We WILL all be one, everyone who chooses to participate, BUT…and this is a big BUT…preparation in advance is essential. We have to know and understand God’s plan. This is what protects us from offense. Jesus intends to bring “division” and “fire.” The division is the natural result of everyone choosing, in one generation to either participate or not participate in the rescue operation. The fire is the fire of His presence…the glory of God, which is glorious to those in agreement with God…those seeking His face…and terrifying to those trying to avoid God’s leadership. They will want to hide from His face:

Matthew 24:9-13 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. (10) And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. (11) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. (12) And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (13) But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Not understanding Jesus’ plan is the beginning of the offense Jesus warned would cause people to quit and give in to fear. That is why Jesus over and over clarified what disciples were supposed to expect:

Luke 12:49-53 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (50) But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! (51) Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (52) For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. (53) Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Revelation 6:12-17 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (13) And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. (14) Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. (15) And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, (16) and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! (17) For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

And then the angel goes on to explain who can stand in Revelation 7.

John was told that those not seeking Jesus’ face, actively participating in the rescue plan, would be really scared when the seals began being released. This isn’t because God is trying to scare people…He has a SPECIFIC plan to MOVE the hearts of people into agreement. So, the whole earth has two options:

1. Move into agreement in advance = not scary, or

2. Wait and see = moving later in fear of what is happening and risk the potential for offense and quitting

God told us the WHOLE plan in advance, in order for us to be able to agree with Him. The plan for “turning up the heat” to get people to agree with Him is to increase the intensity in three sets of seven, called seals, trumpets, and bowls. God described this whole plan to Moses in Leviticus 26, starting in verse 14. I won’t get into all that now, but this is the gist:

Mankind is looking for the perfect “king”. God will let them have one, called the antichrist. This man offers himself as an alternative to Jesus, first, by promising to be Israel’s protector for 2,520 days (seven Jewish years). This guy also has a plan to make the earth economically sound, at peace, and “fair.” Basically, antichrist offers the world a final attempt at a socialist system. God has let this happen in little bits here and there, but in the last generation, He is going to give mankind a shot at it globally. This is the tower of Babel on a global level. The evil mankind wants…to rule the earth apart from loyalty to God…results in great trouble. God is going to let the trouble happen in three increments of seven. He is letting the earth have what it wants in order to show the people of the earth, incrementally, that their choice to try life apart from the Author of Life results in death…always. He does this in three stages because of love. These are the three stages: seals, trumpets, and bowls. Each of these stages has seven parts: four judgments of blood (touches the physical flesh and blood aspect of rebellion), two of the spirit (touches the spiritual aspect of rebellion), and one of the glory! (power released directly from the throne). The seals, trumpets, and bowls are all grouped in three similar sets. Here is what it looks like for the seals:

1. Seals - God lets mankind see the plan in the man’s (antichrists) heart. This results in world war and the effects of that war. This is what it looks like:

a. Blood

Seal 1, threat of war by antichrist

Seal 2, World war breaks out as kingdoms rebel against the antichrist’s attempt to control the earth

Seal 3, Worldwide Famine results from the misallocation of resources in the antichrist’s “planned society” as it breaks down

Seal 4, widespread death touches the earth as the fallout from these events spreads through the economy and society

b. Spirit

Seal 5, martyrdom increases and the Church presses in with prayer (crying out to God) rather than quitting!

Seal 6, God answers the prayer from heaven and releases the Holy Spirit on all flesh that is praying.

c. Glory

Seal 7, God supernaturally strengthens the prayer movement on earth by giving the angles “much incense” from heaven to mix with the incense from earth. The angels that will release the trumpets are readied.

The trumpets and the bowls are divided up the same way. Look for yourself, the divisions are pretty plain to see…four touch the physical realm, two touch the spiritual realm, and one stands alone in glory. The idea is that the plan is well written out and ordered so that the Bride can participate with the Groom. The tribulation isn’t something that “happens” to the Bride, it is something the Bride is supposed to partner with God in. In the same way, God showed Moses the whole plan to free the Israelites from Egypt BEFORE God had Moses partner with Him in releasing it:

Exodus 4:28-31 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him. (29) Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. (30) And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. (31) So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Moses and Aaron then participated with God in the release of the judgments. All of Israel was safe in Goshen, because they agreed with God. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of His heart to save anyone willing. Now is the time to find out what that looks like so I can participate fully!

Matthew 24:44-46 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (45) "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? (46) Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.