It’s getting warmer. Just yesterday in the south Pacific, Typhoon #1 showed up. No chance of it coming near Japan though. It’ll go through the Philippines and on over to southeast Asia. Rather early I think, but… the weather all around the world is changing. I believe the strange weather is directly related to what Luke wrote in Acts 2:19 where he refers to Joel’s prophecy of the last days… “And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath…” In Japanese we call weather “ten-ki” 天気 , and it can be translated as the “mood of the sky.” I wonder what will come next?
A spring evening sunset taken from the front porch of the church prophetically speaks to the heart: “In the last days, saith God,
I will pour out of my Spirit (the dove) on all flesh…”
We had a Bible School teacher many years ago who said, “Whenever you see or hear a constant theme of news about natural things, you can be sure there is a spiritual counterpart.” OIL is the number one theme these days in the news. The spiritual counterpart would be the OIL of the HOLY SPIRIT. There is ample supply of natural OIL around the globe, but the price to pay for it is very high. Likewise, in the spirit realm, there is an unlimited supply of the Holy Ghost, but the price one has to pay for what we call “the anointing,” or a move of God in our land can be great.
I wonder, too, what battles in the sprit realm between good and evil are taking place behind the weather that we see all over the world. And can you imagine what kind of a spiritual battle is going on in the heavens above Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan? Whoa! You know, I think that guy in Daniel 10:13 who is identified as “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” is still there wreaking havoc in the heavenlies which is revealed to us daily in the fierce battle between liberty and bondage. I think you’ll see more of this all over the world in days to come: liberty versus bondage. Interesting, but the
Japanese word of “liberty” is “jiyu” and is written using Chinese characters 自由 showing that “I am a vessel of OIL.”
Or what kind of a spiritually evil menagerie (collection of wild or strange animals kept in cages or enclosures) is released from the crevasses (deep cracks, fissures) of the earth when a catastrophic earthquake occurs somewhere in the world. We are seeing a world-wide increase of earthquakes, famines, wars and even rumors of wars. Financial systems are teetering, and so are family units. There is now talk of a world-wide pestilence. Reminds me of what it says on the last page of the Book: “Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Oh, yes, I’m reminded of what my son, Mark, has said: “It’s always good to fill up your gas tank before the day ends.” Good advice, don’t you think? Especially because one never knows what may happen in the middle of the night. You may need that full tank to get someplace quick. It says, “But the wise took OIL in their vessels with their lamps.” And at midnight when the call came, they were ready to go!
Jesus would say to all of us this weekend, “Ready, or not, here I come!”