Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.

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We’ve hit 14 posts in this series! That feels like a lot to me because at The Prayer Room 14 sessions is a semester’s worth of a Bible class. Of course, a blog post is quite a bit simplified compared to an hour-long class session; this series will probably land at a few over 20 posts (and still be just an overview!).

For the past few posts, I’ve been taking a pause from some of the broader events to focus on the experience of the church during the tribulation. We talked about protection, then prayer, and now we’re talking about revival.

Good and Bad at the Same Time

As we discussed much earlier in this series, the end times are both dramatically glorious and dramatically terrible at the same time. Some groups within the church tend to emphasize one or the other, and either one is an unhealthy and inaccurate imbalance. Even as there will be all kinds of pressures and judgments besetting the earth, there will ALSO be a great revival as God pours out His Spirit and the bride comes into her maturity and authority. (Check out my earlier post Are the End Times Good or Bad? for more of a breakdown.)

And to some extent, these two realities fuel each other! Do you remember the riot in Ephesus that erupted because revival was bankrupting the idol industry (Acts 19)? Real revival causes disruption in society that causes unbelieving society to push back on Christians. But of course, God uses persecution to refine and stir up the church, even to the point that the witness of the martyrs becomes seed that leads to many new salvations! Persecution and revival go hand in hand. Can you imagine the fury of the Harlot Babylon and later the antichrist directed at a fiery, anointed bride that refuses to bow to their lies?

So let’s look at the biblical promise of end-time revival.

Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh

“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. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”
(Joel 2:28-32)

You’re probably familiar with these verses, since Peter made them famous in Acts 2. In their original context, though, it’s clearly an end-time passage. Verses 30 and 31 reference “wonders in the heavens and on the earth”, in conjunction with the “great and awesome day of the Lord” (ie, the return of Jesus). These things have not happened yet.

So why did Peter reference this passage at Pentecost?

In Acts 2, the Spirit was poured out on the disciples in the upper room. They began speaking in tongues and preaching boldly, and there was clearly a new anointing resting on them. In explaining what was happening, Peter quoted Joel 2 and said, “This is what Joel was talking about.” (Acts 2:16-21)

And indeed it was! However, it was not the full and final fulfillment. A lot of pieces were missing. There were no “blood and fire and columns of smoke.” The sun wasn’t turned to darkness and the moon wasn’t turned to blood.

There’s a really simple rule in interpreting Bible prophecy. “If it hasn’t happened yet… it hasn’t happened yet.” This prophecy was partially fulfilled, but not completely. Pentecost was only the start; the Spirit will be poured out again in an even greater measure.

There’s another principle called “dual fulfillment.” Many prophecies in Scripture have dual fulfillment: a first, smaller fulfillment, and a later, fuller fulfillment. This doesn’t lessen the validity of God’s word at all; God loves to give us early shadows to help us imagine what the full fulfillment will be like.

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to use Joel 2 as the best way to explain what was happening, and it was totally valid to say “This is that.” But in the context of the end times, there will be a much fuller expression that the world has never yet seen. Judging by the specific signs mentioned, this will probably take place during the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12-13, but even before that, God is going to be pouring out His Spirit more and more as the church reaches maturity.

Global Harvest

In Matthew 24, arguably the clearest end time chapter in the Bible, Jesus promised, “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Mt. 24:14) Missions organizations tell us that we’re very, very close. It’s very realistic that this could be complete in our lifetimes, and Jesus will not return until it occurs.

In Revelation, we see the fulfillment of this promise with the great multitude from every nation:

“…by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
(Revelation 5:9)

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands… These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 7:9, 14)

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.”
(Revelation 14:6)

These verses paint the picture of a global harvest of souls, with people from every people group on earth coming into the kingdom in a massive influx. Many prophetic voices in recent years have referred to a “billion-soul harvest” in the end times.

All Israel Will Be Saved

One people group in particular is guaranteed a revival.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people…they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Of course, this is the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated with His death and resurrection, and Gentile believers are graciously grafted in and allowed to share in Israel’s promise. Paul details this promise and grafting in Romans 11, culminating in, “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’.” (Ro. 11:26)

When Jesus comes, Israel will finally recognize Him as their God and Messiah. They will welcome Him into Jerusalem and say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mt. 23:29) and every Jewish person alive on earth at that time will be saved.

Zechariah describes this as a time of great repentance and mourning as they finally realize who Jesus is:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
(Zechariah 12:10)

Soon in this blog series, I’m going to talk a lot more about Israel and their promises. It’s a huge component of end-time prophecy, and truthfully, our eschatology will always be at least a little off balance until we put Israel in the center.

How to Partner with God for Revival

Even before the final BIG revival, I believe God will continually pour out His Spirit more and more as the church matures. So how do we align ourselves to agree with God for revival?

1. Get a big vision
   Search out stories of historic revivals to whet your appetite for what God can do when He moves. I recommend season one of the Gripped podcast by Billy Humphrey and Corey Russell.
2. Pray for it
   Make intercession for revival (in your nation, city, and local community) a regular part of your prayer life. Throughout church history, intercession has always been the way that God has ushered in revival.
3. Foster a ready lifestyle
   What kind of people will be ready to hold what God wants to pour out? It will be a worshipping, praying, fasting, humble bride that God will anoint with His Spirit.
4. Keep loving Jesus
   Remember, we’re not in this for the cool stories and dramatic experiences. We’re in this because we love Jesus. Let’s stay faithful and keep loving Him and savoring His presence, however big or small we feel it. He’s the one we want.