by Stacey Campbell
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city . . . .
Joel 3:12-14
"Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness!" Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
For 2008, prophetically, I hear sickles. They are swinging over nations, and they are set to reap. But what will the harvest be – national revival or national judgment? The Bible (Rev. 14:14ff; Joel 3:13) speaks of two types of sickles – one is a sickle of salvation – to reap the ripe harvest of the earth. The other is a sickle for grapes – a sickle bringing judgment and the wrath of God. What if the sickle that swings widest over a nation could be determined by the Church of that nation?
It is no secret that all over the world things are heating up. On the one hand, there is great anticipation as some of the prophetic words of the past few years unfold before our very eyes. “Convergence,” “acceleration,” “generations,” “alignment,” “crossing over,” “great signs and wonders,” “the beginning of a new 40 year cycle” – the prophetic buzz words of the past few years are no longer future, but present. All of the above are happening throughout North America and the rest of the world. Our faith is giving way to sight. The push in the spirit is upon us and we all feel its weight. God has positioned many of us to ask for and receive things way beyond our natural capability (Eph. 3:20).
Why? Because to this very day, God continues to “so love the world,” (JOHN 3:16) and, unfortunately, much of the world is still grossly lost. All over the world, nations are in moral crisis. From school shootings to child porn, sin is escalating. In North America, economic crisis is looming, and will probably crack wide open at some point in 2008. Communism is threatening Mexico and other Latin American nations. Russia is beginning to taunt the West again. Terrorists are indiscriminately blowing up whatever they can get away with. Child poverty is raging all over the globe and pushing the cycle of sin to unthinkable levels.
But when sin abounds, grace does much more abound. God is raising up a standard to turn the tide of evil back to righteousness. The prayer movement is exploding with 24/7 houses of prayer springing up everywhere. Miracles of all sorts are taking place. Marketplace apostles, prophetic evangelism, and spiritual fathering and mothering are established norms in many places. Like a giant chessboard, the world is taking shape for the war for the souls of men. Preachers of righteousness, their hearts on fire from having spent hours in the presence of God, are emerging from the prayer room like John Wesley and Savanarolla of old. Their words, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will shift cities and nations. As the god of Mammon is shaken in North America in 2008, stadiums will fill with massive gatherings of fasting and prayer, the generation prepared with signs and wonders will, like the apostles in the book of Acts, be released to preach to receptive ears.
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Prayer is the tipping point. Prayer will release both the judgments of God (Rev. 8:3-13), and create the climate for people to call upon the Lord (see Judges 2:11-22; 3:9,15; 4:3; 6:6, etc.) The scene is being set. If there ever was a time that a nation could “be saved in a day,” now is the time. The wealth transfer has begun, the miracles are happening, the leadership has crossed over and stadiums are already being filled with tens of thousands of believers who are gathering in solemn assemblies of fasting and prayer. I know 20 and 30 year olds who are changing the political climate of nations, who are seeing the lame walk and the blind see, and who are consumed with passion to see a resting place for the Lord established. The speed at which the Church is accelerating is almost frightening, but we have no choice but to follow the Lamb wherever he goes. We are within decades of the gospel of the kingdom being preached to the whole world. And we all know what Jesus said would happen after that (see Matt. 24:14).
Yet we must face the fact that acceleration is happening in kingdoms, the divine and the demonic. In this hour when the world is hanging in the balance, the Church on earth has the power to influence the destiny of nations. We are the salt of the earth, the agent that retards sin and establishes truth and righteousness. When we are faced with the merciless onlaught of evil, we don’t look around, we look up. 2008 is a year of incredible opportunity for the Church, as long as she responds with faith to the opportunities that will come suddenly upon the earth. As I said, in my spirit, I hear sickles. God is preparing to reap nations. Will they be saved . . . or judged?
Rev. 14:16 “So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. . . 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.”
Joel 3:13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness! 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!”
Prayer – massive gatherings of fasting and prayer – concerted, fervent prayer – will determine which sickle swings widest over America and the other nations of the world. When the prayer bowls fill in heaven, the result on earth is the acceleration of harvest and judgment (Rev. 8:3ff).
In 2008, the Church must join with the intercession of Jesus (Hebrews 7:25) for the release of national revival. Just as with individuals, there are certain national demons that will only come out by fasting and prayer. The formula for national change has been the same for thousands of years: “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, I will . . . heal their LAND (emphasis mine)” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
If we take the principle of first binding the strongman through national assemblies of fasting and prayer, and then loosing the harvesters (marketplace apostles, fiery end-time preachers, mercy evangelists, and miracle workers), we can take nations. As the kingdoms of this world are shaken, and fear fills the world, a faithful and faith-filled Church will respond to the crises and reap perhaps the greatest harvest the world has ever seen at one time. Prayer, fasting, combined with radical missions must be released at a new level. 2008 will be the bomb . . . “for those who have ears to hear.”
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