Exposing the Battle Over an Unusual End-Times Prophecy
In Washington State, I witnessed an aspect of end-times prophecy coming to pass before my eyes. And it had nothing to do with destruction.
A Confession I Had to Make
I’ve had to repent for exclusively associating the end times, the last days, and the second coming with destruction and disaster. Pause and consider that.
For decades, many of us have been fed a steady diet of apocalyptic teaching that causes us to associate Jesus's glorious appearing with the earth blowing up like the Death Star in Star Wars. I do believe there are wars and rumors of wars. Sadly, there is disease, pestilence, and rampant deception. These describe certain end-times conditions — but they are not end-times promises.
Bottom line: I do not spend my intercessory energy praying for more deception, more famine, and more war. That would be spiritually sadistic, and totally out of line with our Kingdom-advancing assignment.
The Last Words of the Old Testament
The end-times prophecy hiding in plain sight — not in Daniel, Revelation, or the Olivet Discourse, but in the very last verses of the Old Testament.
Interestingly, the end-times prophecy I watched come to pass isn't found in Daniel or Ezekiel, Matthew 24, Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, or Revelation.
It's the climactic chapter of the Old Testament — literally the last book, the last chapter, the last verses: Malachi 4:5-6. And I saw this happen before my very eyes:
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." (Malachi 4:5-6, ESV)
What concerns me about a verse like this is that we've been so shaped by the "dark side" of end-times theology that we go looking for curses and destruction the moment we read it.
But here's the truth: there is something in this text that can shift destruction.
It's the hearts of children being turned to their fathers, and fathers to their children.
I believe we can see blessing and outpouring instead of destruction and curse — to the degree that we see the generations running together.
Generations Running Together
I saw multiple expressions of this at The Rock Church across two campuses, about two-plus hours apart.
I saw young and old honoring each other, desiring to run together.
I saw the older, seasoned saints celebrating the vigor and zeal of the next generation — and actually encouraging them to take bold risks of faith.
I saw the younger generation honoring, loving, and respecting their mothers and fathers. No attempts to "snatch the baton" — but a true joy in the protection, the blessing, the relationship, and the multiplied impact of running together.
All Ages, All Generations — On Deck
Why this move of God requires every generation, not just one.
To experience the fullness of the end-times outpouring, it demands ALL AGES and ALL GENERATIONS on deck.
After all, the end-times promise we see in Joel 2 — and later in Acts 2, as Peter announces that Joel's prophecy is being fulfilled — is clearly a multi-generational move of the Spirit:
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit." (Joel 2:28-29, ESV)
"And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams... and they shall prophesy." (Acts 2:17-18, ESV)
I want you to claim this for yourself. You may be twenty, or you may be eighty. If you are breathing, you are not done. There is an assignment on your life. If you've retired from a specific occupation, that's okay — you are still enlisted in the army of the Lord, with an assignment to advance His Kingdom until you graduate into glory.