Hastening the Day of the Lord

Over the past few years, I have spoken with many Christians who say they are mostly focused on and praying for the return of Jesus Christ and the end-time rapture of the Church, so that they might be rescued from their lives here on Earth. I have also spoken to many who believe we are to be focused more on “occupying until He comes” by standing in authority and fighting against the enemies of God on the earth. Over the past few months, the Father has been revealing to me a truth regarding the return of His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth. He has been showing me plans that He wrote in Scripture thousands of years ago for this very moment, and how those plans are meant to be followed by His people today. Both camps mentioned above are following part of God's plans for us. However, I believe the Father’s plan, in fullness, is for us to be doing both with a heart motivated solely by our love for God and for others, according to our Father’s perfect will and good pleasure.

In 2 Peter 3, Peter speaks about the coming day of the Lord and gives us instructions on how we are to live “for” the Lord’s return. He says in 2 Peter 3:11-12, “…what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God…” Regarding the coming judgment on that day, he says in verse 9 that the Lord “…is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance,” and in verse 14, “…be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation…” We can see from these verses that the Lord’s patience provides an opportunity for all people to come to salvation according to His desire, but He is asking us to play a much different role regarding the day of the Lord.

James also speaks about being patient until the day of the Lord.  In James 5:7, he says, “Therefore be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.” James does not say to “be patient” for the day of the Lord; he says to “be patient” until the day of the Lord. This might seem trivial to some readers, but the words being used reveal a deeper meaning of what is being said. In English, the use of the word “for” indicates an ongoing action or continuation of time while the word “until” represents finality or a coming to an end.

In 2 Peter 3:11-12, Peter uses the Greek word “prosdokao” to describe the phrase “looking for” in reference to the day of the Lord. In Greek, this word can be translated as a motion towards a coming expectation or hope; to look for or forward to. In other words, it shows an act of participation rather than simply an outward observation of an approaching end. In James 5:7, James uses the Greek adverb of time, “heos,” meaning “until” or the end of the moment, an act of completion, or an event that can no longer be influenced or altered. This does not require participation but can be better understood as simply observing an event unfold. He compares this “until” moment to a time of harvest or gathering in of produce.   

James uses the Greek word “makrothumeo” when he says, “Therefore be patient.” Interestingly, this is the same Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 13:4, when Paul gives us the definition of love. In both cases, this Greek word means to avoid or stay far from anger; to endure patiently. This aligns with the rest of James 5:7, where he says not to complain against one another so we might not be judged. James is telling us to “be love” when he says to “be patient” until the day of the Lord comes to an end. He is saying to “be patient” as a state of existence, as we observe the coming end of the day of the Lord.

How does James say we are to accomplish this? He says we are to strengthen our hearts and not complain against one another by being God’s love on the earth until our Lord Jesus returns. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says that love is “patient” and kind, not holding grudges against one another but forgiving one another. We strengthen our hearts by allowing God to love others through us, not by simply waiting for Him to rapture us away. Where James tells us how we are to love others until the Lord returns, Peter tells us how we are to love God by “hastening” His return.

If we look at 2 Peter 3:11-12 in Greek, the original language in which it was written, we can see that the word “hastening” refers to more than simply speed. In Greek, this verb is “speudo,” derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "spewd-," meaning to press, urge, or hurry. Original traces of this root word in modern languages can often be found in words associated with spits and skewers, suggesting an interpretation or translation more closely related to a penetrating drive. This suggests that the Greek word is not as closely related to the English verb for speed as it is to the word for prosper. We prosper in our efforts by playing a role in the outcome. If the writer wanted to refer more directly to speed, they might use a Greek adjective like “tachus,” which simply means "quick" or "speedy". The word that Peter uses emphasizes zeal, resolve, and drive. It is an urgent or driving progression towards the coming day of the Lord that we zealously play a role in.

How do we participate in this? Peter says we do this by living “in holy conduct and godliness.” Jesus Christ is returning for a Church that lives in holiness and righteousness, being pure, spotless, and without wrinkle. Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Notice that the motivation in this scripture is love, and it is also our love for Him that should motivate us to live “in holy conduct and godliness.” In this way, we might “hasten” the day of the Lord allowing us to find ourselves in the arms of the One we love, sooner rather than later.

Likewise, we will not be ready for His return simply by “occupying” the earth if we are not walking in holiness and righteous conduct, even if we are walking in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit and performing signs and wonders. We also cannot simply sit by and wait for Him to return to rapture us if we are being instructed to participate in “hastening” the day of the Lord by living in holiness and godliness. What is more holy or godly than walking in God’s love, allowing us to love God fully and to share God’s love with others while here on Earth? Paul clearly states in 1 Corinthians 13 that if we are walking in the power of God with signs and wonders but lack love, we are nothing.

I have heard some people use Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27 to validate their understanding that we should “occupy this world until He comes.” Both passages seem to tell the same parable, but with slight differences. In this parable, taught by Jesus, a master gave money to some of his servants, and in Luke, he told them to “Do business” with it until he returned from a trip. In Matthew, they received no direct instructions. When he returned, the master found some to be “good” and “faithful” in their dealings with the money, while one of them hid the money because they feared the master and thought of him as a “hard” or “exacting man,” taking up what he did not lay down and reaping what he did not sow. He rewarded the good and faithful servants and took back everything that he had given to the fearful servant, giving it to the servant who had more.

I wrote on this parable in much more detail in the book Ministering to Our Father, but for this purpose, we will cover two points that are important to understand when addressing how we are to be “occupying until He comes.” When the master told the first servant that he had been “good” and “faithful,” he was revealing to him why he was pleased with his service. It was not that he had made him more money. It was the way that he did it. By looking up the definition of those two words, we can see that the master was telling the servant that he acted “morally right or in righteousness,” and that he “acted in the same manner” that the master would have acted had he been the one dealing with the money. That is what being “good” and “faithful” means.

The master also did not come into agreement with the fearful servant’s understanding of him. He simply told the fearful servant that he would judge him according to what the servant said of him. He told him that since he “knew” the master as a “hard” and “exacting man,” the master would judge him accordingly. The “good” and “faithful” servant knew the master differently as a rewarder of those who righteously and faithfully served him, allowing the servant to act accordingly. In Matthew, the master calls this fearful servant “wicked and lazy,” and he banishes him into outer darkness. In Luke, he is simply stripped of all he has, and it is all given to the one who has more.

Some might read this as the master agreeing with the fearful servant about the master's character. However, we know by the reading that the master in the parable is Jesus, and those of us who know Him know that He is not “hard” or “exacting.” He does not reap where He does not sow nor gather what He does not put down. We will see later that Jesus, the Son of Man, is the One who sows His seed and harvests His fields. He was making the point that we will be judged by how we know Him and how He knows us. Jesus wanted to let us know that if we act or “occupy” in the “good” and “faithful” way that He does, a reward awaits us upon His return. How does our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, act? He always acts in obedience to the Father’s will, in righteousness and godliness, and with humility and love.

In the parable in Luke, there were also “citizens” of the country who resisted the master’s dominion. They did not want to submit to his authority. They did not want to love the master by living in obedience to him, and upon his return, they were punished and killed as his enemies. The citizens were not identified as his servants simply because they lived in the land. Even if they had claimed that their citizenship earned them the right to be treated as one of his servants, it would not have mattered because they resisted his authority and domain over them. The fearful servant in Matthew was treated in the same manner as the rebellious citizens in Luke because neither of them knew the master and chose instead to walk in wickedness and lawlessness.

It is also not enough to simply call ourselves His servant or say that He is our Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” Notice that Jesus does not discount or deny their actions of signs and wonders. He denies ever knowing them because they were not being “good” and “faithful” servants, but rather, they were practicing lawlessness and producing bad fruit instead of the good fruit of the Holy Spirit, such as love. Like the fearful servant in Matthew, they feared the Lord, but they did not know Him. They claimed to be His, but they acted wickedly. They rebelled against His authority, as the citizens in Luke did. They did not truly know Him or love Him, and they acted accordingly. They tried to do “good” works in His name, but they did not do them “faithfully” from a heart of love for Him as He does for the Father. They simply did them because they feared Him.  

Jesus said in John 14:15 that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. In Greek, the word for commandments is “entole,” meaning directives or instructions, but it is a broader term that encompasses all directives and instructions associated with His message, not just a few. In John 14:24, Jesus said, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words.” When Jesus says, “My words”, He is saying more than keeping His commandments, although His commandments are included in these words. In Greek, the word is “logos,” which encompasses the very nature of Jesus Christ. “Logos” is the spoken word of God that brings all things into being, and we know from John 1:1 that Jesus is that Word. When someone “practices” lawlessness, they deny the very nature of God by living contrary to the commandment to love Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. They show no love for Him and discount His sacrifice by continuing to bring Him pain and grief rather than choosing to live free from the sin for which He suffered, bled, and died.

I have written in detail over the past few years about the Father's plan for believers to be laborers with Jesus Christ here on Earth, and how we are to seek the Father’s perfect will for each of us individually as sons and daughters of God. I have also written many times on how we are to love God and others while here on Earth, especially with fellow believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 Corinthians 13 clearly defines love and emphasizes that everything we say and do should align with God’s perfect love. In the book Ministering to Our Father, the Lord showed me a better way to understand that the foundation of our service or ministry to Him must be rooted and founded in love if we want our lives to be fruitful for Him.

Jesus Christ, the spoken Word of God or “logos,” is very clear in the scriptures that we are not to sit idly by and wait for His return. Jesus Christ has commissioned every disciple of His to share His gospel of truth and love with the world, along with performing signs and wonders such as healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons; however, it is vital that these actions take place according to the Father’s perfect will and timing. Peter said that we are to live in all holiness and godliness while “hastening” the day of the Lord, and Paul said that we are not to seek or desire anything, even godly things like spiritual giftings, without first having pursued love and having been founded in it. He says in 1 Corinthians 3 that our foundation is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We also know from scripture that the very essence of God is love; without Him, we are nothing. Acting outside of His perfect will and love produces vanity and unfruitful works.    

What is the Day of the Lord?

There are many scriptures that describe the coming day of the Lord, and Jesus spoke directly to His disciples about it as a warning of what was to come. To better understand how we are to live during these times as believers, it would benefit us to investigate some of these scriptures. While spending time with the Lord on this matter, He took me to the Book of Joel to share some truths about this moment in time and how we are to look forward to and even “hasten” it.

In chapter one of the Book of Joel, God’s people are told that the Lord is aware of the suffering in the land that was caused by the locusts devouring everything in it. He describes these locusts as an invading army taking everything from the land for themselves, leaving nothing behind. He calls His people to come together and weep, but not for themselves. It says in Joel 1:13, “Come spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.” This is a call for His people to humble themselves and to put God’s desires before their own.

In Joel 2:25, the Lord says this army of locusts is “My great army which I sent among you.”  We will soon see why the Lord would send this army and what He has in store for us as we look deeper into the Book of Joel, but we can also keep another scripture in mind as we try to understand His purposes regarding the coming day of the Lord. The Lord says in 2 Chronicles 7:13-15, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins and will heal their land.”

There are many people in this nation who are crying out and complaining today about our land, wealth, and rights being trampled on and destroyed by those “locusts” who are taking everything for themselves and leaving nothing behind for the rest of us, but where is the outcry and weeping for our God? When we were not allowed to go to church recently because of government health regulations, were we lamenting and weeping because God was being robbed of His due offerings of our worship and praise, or were we upset because we were being restricted in “our” right to congregate? Was it about God, or was it about us?

In chapter two, the Lord speaks about an army of “a great and mighty people,” unlike anything before or after it. We are not going to take the time right now to try to identify who these people are, but in Joel 2:11, the Lord tells us that He is the One who sends and leads this army. This army will consume everything that comes before them, and they will leave a “desolate wilderness” behind them. The purpose of this army of people is the same as the army of locusts. This destruction is meant to draw God’s people back to Him.   

The Lord makes sure to tell us of His graciousness, compassion, mercy, and lovingkindness, so we might find a way out of the destruction by returning to Him with hearts of repentance and supplication. He promises to protect His people when His army comes if they are first willing to repent and return to Him.  In Joel 2:12, the Lord warns that His day is near and tells His people to prepare for it by returning to Him with “all your heart.” He tells them to begin fasting, weeping, and mourning, and to “rend your heart and not your garments.” This is a call to deep inward repentance, not an outward appearance of repentance given more as a show for man than for God. It says in Joel 2:18, “Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people.” Repentance and supplication for His people are what the Lord is asking of us today as well.

The day of the Lord that Joel speaks about in chapter 3 has not fully arrived yet, but it is drawing near. The Lord has been patient with His return because His people are not yet ready for Him. As we have discussed before, we who are members of His body, the Church, and the Bride of Christ, are His people. Not until we, God’s people, repent and turn back to Him will the Lord have pity on us and drive the evil from our land. Joel says that God will protect His people, provide for them, and deliver them before He will pour out His Spirit on all mankind, but not before we turn back to Him in heart-rending repentance.

There must be an inner healing, cleansing, purity, and transformation within us before the Lord will allow the power of His Holy Spirit to fall upon us. This will only come with deep and inner repentance. Throughout the Old Testament, we can read about God’s instructions to His children about cleansing and purification. The high priest had to go through a rigid cleansing ceremony before he went into the Holy of Holies, or he could suffer the punishment of death. Today, we are no longer required to outwardly cleanse ourselves nor offer up countless sacrifices to obtain the kind of purity and cleanliness needed to stand in the presence of the Almighty God, but we do need to come to Jesus in absolute and utter repentance of our sins so that we might be cleansed inwardly with the blood of Christ and the Word of God.

As we will see, in the Book of Joel, there is a reason for this process of repentance before we see the power of God. Many today are asking God to send a “Revival” to the Church and the nations of the world. The word “Revival” never appears in scripture, but words like “revive” and “revived” are found throughout the Old Testament. We might also see words like “refreshing” and “being made alive” used in the New Testament, but the word “Revival” wasn’t widely used until the early 1700s, in reference to a broader spiritual awakening. This is not to argue the use of the word as being used correctly or incorrectly. This is an attempt to show that what we should be asking for is much more than that.

I worked as an ER nurse for many years, and I have seen patients revived with medical assistance when their hearts stopped beating, or when patients who have suffered near drownings are resuscitated back from the brink of death. Without these measures, these patients would have surely died. Their brains would have lost all activity, and they would cease to exist. However, reviving them only solves half of the problem. Determining the cause of their death and healing or repairing that cause is just as vital as reviving them. If the underlying problem is not removed or fixed, the patient will eventually just die again. This will happen repeatedly until the problem, like a bad heart, is repaired or they are given a new one.

Spiritual “revival” is no different. If the Lord revives us or even awakens us from a deep sleep, but the reason for our death or slumber is not removed from us, we will simply die or fall asleep again. What we need is reformation, rebirth, or transformation to remove the problem that caused our spiritual heart to die or sleep. This can only come from a heart that is utterly repentant for the sin within it and utterly dependent on the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We must be cut off from the world, so we can be transformed into His image and be conformed to His Word. This type of transformation is discussed throughout the New Testament, and since I have already written about it several times in my books and blogs, we will not go into it in more detail here.  However, the point we might want to understand is that without this transformation or rebirth of our heart and soul, we cannot or will not see God like so many have been currently praying in this nation. He is too merciful to allow us that.

As David said in Psalms 24:3-4, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” We must first see a deep and solemn repentance in the Church if we want to see the move of the Holy Spirit that many are asking God for today. Let me be direct with you. We must make sure we take the log out of our own eye before we start addressing the speck in others. We must first make sure our own heart is ready for what is coming before we try to lead or shepherd others. The result of not being ready will be like the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. If you have never read the story, I would encourage you to do so right now before reading another word of this message. The scripture does not specify how many of God’s people must return to Him before He moves in power by His Spirit, so we want to make sure we are on the right side of the fence when it happens.

We also should not stop praying for this transformation until it occurs, and our focus should be on living in “holy conduct and godliness,” while “hastening” the day of the Lord in preparation for the coming rain of His Holy Spirit. We should not be expecting God to show us His glory or power until we are ready to see it, and we should be wary of anyone who claims to experience His awesome power and glory when the fruit of their lives suggests otherwise. God is merciful and has been waiting for His people to return to Him and call upon His name in solemn repentance. This repentance will be by the Spirit of God, because only He can give us the grace for it. However, we must be humble and willing to confess our sins, as it says in Joel 2:13, “by rending our hearts, not our garments.”  Joel provides a timeline of these events, which we can follow as we read the rest of the book, after first quickly summarizing the beginning.

As we discussed, chapters one and two of the Book of Joel introduce the invading army of “locusts” and the “great and mighty people,” along with the destruction that follows them. Joel 2:12-17 calls for the solemn gathering of His people in repentance and supplication, sanctifying the congregation so they might be spared. Joel 2:18 says, “Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people.” Verses 18-24 speak of God’s deliverance for His people, and in verse 25 it says, “Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten…My great army, which I sent among you.” We read in verse 28 that, “It will come about after this (repentance and deliverance) that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind.” After His people repent and turn back to Him because of the suffering incurred at the hands of the invading army that He sent, God will move mightily by His Spirit. In Joel 2:30-32, the Lord will then display signs and wonders in the sky and on the earth, giving once more a chance for “whoever calls on the name of the Lord” to be delivered.

After all of this, we read in Joel 3 that the day of the Lord will fully arrive and come to an end. It says in Joel 3:1, “For behold, in those days and at that time…” the Lord will sit in judgment of all those who have not called out upon the name of the Lord to be saved, and He will harvest those who belong to Him. His judgment will be for all those who are not His people, those who never called out to Him in repentance and supplication.

The Lord will sit in judgment of all nations and will separate His people from all others. Joel 3:12-13 says, “…For I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.” We can find another passage in Revelation 14:14-16 that speaks of this very moment. It speaks of Jesus, the Son of Man, holding a sickle in His hand and sitting on a white cloud. An angel calls out to Him and says, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Right after this, in Revelation 14:17-20, we see an angel who has a sickle, and he is instructed to “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” These grapes are pressed in “the great wine press of the wrath of God”, judgment for the wicked.

What is the End-Time Harvest?

The end-times, last days, or the end of the age are different than the day of the Lord. When Jesus came to the earth, it marked the beginning of the end. When Peter spoke of the day of the Lord, he said in 2 Peter 3:8, “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” According to those words, we have been in the last days for the past two thousand years. We have been living in a time when men have been able to find eternal salvation because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. As we will soon see, harvest time began when Jesus came to the earth, and it will end when He returns for His bride on that final day.

Jesus spoke about this harvest in Matthew 9:36-38. It says, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” I have heard some people say that we are, or soon will be, entering this end-time harvest, but I believe the words of Jesus when He said, “The harvest is plentiful.” It was then, it is now, and it will be until Jesus returns. What does this have to do with the day of the Lord?

In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells a parable about wheat and tares. He said they will grow up in the same field, but we should not try to separate the bad tares from the good wheat ourselves lest we damage the wheat. He says, “In the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Who are these reapers? Are we to be reapers and harvesters, or has He given us a different assignment?

In Matthew 13:37-43, Jesus explains the parable and tells us that He is the One who sows the good seed that yields the wheat or the sons of the kingdom. The devil sows the bad seed that yields the tares or the sons of the evil one. He says the harvest is the end of the age and “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them in the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Might this be the same moment spoken of in Joel 3 and Revelation 14, which we covered earlier, concerning the harvest of wheat and grapes? Is this the day of the Lord?

According to Jesus, He is the One who sows, and His angels are the reapers who will separate the wheat from the tares when He returns. Jesus spoke again of this day in Matthew 25:31-46, when He will judge all the nations, as Joel did when he mentioned the day of the Lord. Jesus says He will separate the sheep, those who belong to Him, from the goats, those who belong to the evil one. As we saw in Revelation 14 and Joel 3, Jesus does the harvesting and reaping with His angels. This occurs on the day of the Lord when the final harvest is taken in.

Many people believe (I have believed this as well) that a great end-time harvest will occur after the Holy Spirit moves in power throughout the earth, as spoken of in Joel 2. Many believe that the Lord will not return until this great harvest unfolds, and that He is calling us to be His harvesters, based on Matthew 9, where Jesus said to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the field. We are His workers; those of us who are followers and disciples of Jesus. However, if we are to understand the role we are to play as His workers, we should first understand what makes the fields white and the harvest plentiful, as Jesus described to His disciples. The Lord showed me a different way to understand who I am in Him and who He is in me, and how that pertains to being His worker, being one spirit with Him.

Remember in James 5:7 where James told us to be patient until the day of the Lord? He says, “The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.” The rain is in reference to the Holy Spirit raining down upon the earth and mankind. Peter spoke of the early rains at Pentecost in the Book of Acts, while citing Joel's words. In Acts 2, Peter tells the crowd that they are witnessing what Joel referred to as the last days, when God would pour out His Spirit on all mankind. He was obviously not saying that this was the day of the Lord, but instead, what precedes it. How could it be the day of the Lord if we are still here two thousand years later? We will address that point in a minute, but for now, we can see that the Holy Spirit is needed to produce the precious harvest that James spoke about.

John the Baptist said of Jesus in Matthew 3:11-12, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat in the barn, but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” John recognized the need for the Holy Spirit and for the Lord of the Harvest who would bring His harvest into the barn Himself. Ephesians 3:26-27 says that Jesus will cleanse His church and sanctify her “having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Jesus will do this Himself, by His Spirit, and by His word. As we have already seen, Jesus is the Word, and it is by His blood that we are cleansed.

When Jesus said that the fields were ready for harvest, it was because He had come to the earth to die for the sins of all mankind. There would be no harvest without His sacrifice, and no life without His resurrection. Jesus was telling us that the harvest was ready because He is the Lord of the Harvest, and He was sending His Spirit to live in anyone who called upon Him with repentance and supplication. We have been in this harvest season since the day Jesus spoke those words. For the past two thousand years, we have been tasked with being workers or laborers in this end-of-the-age harvest that Jesus spoke of. How many people have been harvested over the past two thousand years? What does it mean to be harvested?

When a seed is planted in the soil, it begins to grow. As James said, this requires rain and time. When the fruit is ready to be harvested, it is removed from the earth and carried into the barn. If we are His wheat, when will this harvest occur? When our bodies die, we are taken from this earth by the hand of God and brought into His storehouse. For those of us who do not see death before Jesus returns, we will be removed from this earth by the hand of Jesus, the Lord of the Harvest, upon His return, as it says in Joel 3 and Revelation 14.

There has already been a great harvest over the past two thousand years, as many untold numbers have died and left this earth believing in and following our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and there will be even more harvested between now and His return. How many? Only God knows, but we can be sure that the number is already as it says in Revelation 7:9-17, “a great number which no one could count.” It says in verse 14 that these ones come out of a “great tribulation,” but what exactly is that? We will address this in more detail later as well, but for now, the point is that countless believers have been harvested over the past two thousand years because Jesus, the Lord of the Harvest, has already plucked them from the earth.

Who are His workers, and what does that mean?

As we discussed earlier, when Jesus told His disciples to pray to the Lord of the Harvest so that He might send workers into the field, He was referring to us, all those who believe in Him and who have the Spirit of Christ abiding in us. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul speaks about being God’s fellow workers, fields, and buildings. He was addressing a problem the Church of Corinth faced: placing its identity in church leaders rather than in Jesus Christ alone. He wanted them to understand that growth comes only from God, and anything attempted by man outside the grace of God will not stand the test of fire. He says that we should not trust in our own wisdom, but rather, in the wisdom of God because He dwells in us and we belong to Him.

Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Regarding how we are to live in our physical body, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:17-20, “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him…Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body.” He says in Romans 8:9 and14, “…you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him…For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Paul clearly understands the importance of being led by the Spirit of Christ living in us, even to the extent of utter and complete submission to His will.

In John 14:10, Jesus spoke about His submission to the Father’s will when He said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” In John 5:19, when Jesus was questioned about His relationship with the Father, He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” Jesus also says in John 6 that He came not to do His own will, but rather, the will of the Father who sent Him.

If Jesus faithfully lived in complete submission and obedience to the Father, how much more should we, who have died with Christ and who now live with the Spirit of Christ abiding in us, also live according to the Father’s perfect will for us. Philippians 2:1-8, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He is telling us to be humble and love God and others by emptying ourselves, not seeking equality with God, but instead, becoming bondservants to Christ, allowing Him to do His work in us.   

If Jesus, Lord of the Harvest, cuts the harvest from the field, and He and the angels bring it into the barn, then what role do we have as His workers? We can neither sow nor reap, harvest nor gather, unless the Spirit of Christ dwells in us. It is completely by His grace and Spirit that we even have breath in our lungs. Our role as His workers or laborers is to bring Him into the harvest field with us, so that He can do His work in us as the Father does His work in Him. Can He harvest without us? Of course, He can and does, but He would rather do it while abiding in us as He labors. He will prepare the soil; He will sow the seed; He will water it and make it grow; and He will harvest it and bring it into His storehouse.

We are not necessarily meeting Him in the field. We are bringing Him into it, so when He said to ask the Lord of the Harvest to send workers, He was asking for us to ask for more vessels or disciples that He could abide in, as He does the Father’s work in them.  He gets all the glory because He is the One doing everything. John 1:3-5 says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” We can do nothing fruitful apart from Him. As Jesus was a vessel for the Holy Spirit on earth, doing the will of the Father, so also must we be.  

Jesus told us that His yoke was easy and His burden was light, but not because it weighed little or was not difficult. It is easy and light because He carries it all on Himself. The Spirit of Christ who dwells within us does the heavy lifting. Any suffering we go through is because He suffered. Jesus told us we would suffer on His behalf, but this is because the enemy is indirectly attacking the One who lives within us by directly attacking our flesh. We should not try to take credit for anything that is happening to us, whether good or bad. If we are living in our Father’s perfect will, being filled to the fullness of Jesus Christ and His love, we can expect that anything we are going through is because of Him. This is how Jesus Christ lived when He walked the earth. The only time this is not true is when we step out of alignment with His will, but as Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 and in Matthew 12:50, those who do the will of our Father will find entrance into heaven as members of God’s family. This is how He wants us to live.

I feel a need to address a part of scripture, as I am aware of being the only time Jesus directly tells His disciples that they are His reapers. In John 4:35-38, Jesus speaks to His disciples, telling them that the field is white for harvest. He said, “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case, the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”  Jesus had not yet sent them out on their own to share the gospel and perform miracles, so He might have been speaking to them in a future context. His disciple might not have fully understood the meaning of this yet, since it was not until later that Peter proclaims Him to be the Son of God. They were still trying to understand who Jesus was and what salvation might mean for them. However, Jesus is making the point that they are, or will be, His reapers, so what does that mean?  

Until Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, He had not paid the price for sin, so there could be no harvest. How can you harvest wheat when it is in someone else’s field? Before He died, Jesus told the thief on the cross that He would be with Him on that day in Paradise. It was there that He shared His gospel with those who had died while waiting for the Messiah to come. When Jesus rose again, He took with Him, or harvested, those who chose to believe in Him. We know He did not go straight to heaven when He died because He told Mary not to touch Him in John 20:17, since He had not yet ascended to the Father.  After His resurrection, in Matthew 28:18, Jesus said that He had been given all authority in heaven and on the earth by the Father. From that day forward, anyone who believed in Him and received Him as their Lord and Savior would live eternally when they died. He would harvest them and bring them into His storehouse.

The disciples did not have the Holy Spirit living in them until later in the Book of Acts with the first rain of the Spirit, as we discussed earlier. Jesus, however, sent them out on two different occasions to share His gospel and perform miracles. How did they do this if they were not filled with the Holy Spirit? In Matthew 10:1, it says, “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” Jesus had been given His authority by the Father while He was on the earth to do these same types of miracles. He transferred this authority to His disciples for this specific mission that He was sending them on. They did not need to pray and ask Him to do those things through them. They simply did them because they had been given the authority to operate on behalf of Jesus, the Lord of the Harvest.

We know they did not go out and pray for people in His name because Jesus later told them in John 16:23-24, speaking of things to come, “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” When Jesus prayed to the Father later in John 17, He asked the Father for them to be unified as He and the Father were.

Jesus said in John 17:22-23, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” It is in this love and unity that we can see that Jesus and the Father do their work in us, just as the Father did His work in Jesus. It is not we who do our own works, but the Father doing His work in us. God sows, harvests, and reaps through us. We are His body here on the earth, and everything is accomplished by His Word and by His Spirit.

When is the great tribulation and the latter rain?

Joel speaks of a tribulation meant to call God’s people back to Him. It is after this tribulation that the Holy Spirit is poured out on all mankind, allowing even more to call out to Him to be saved. James 5:7 tells of the early and latter rains required for a fruitful harvest. The early rains clearly refer to Jesus' ascension into heaven and the sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell on earth in those who believed in Him. This is the raining down of the Holy Spirit that Peter spoke about in the Book of Acts. The latter rains have fallen to some extent since then as we have been living in the last days, but much more is still to come, as Joel 2:28 says, after God’s people return to Him in repentance and supplication.

There have been many moments in history over the past two thousand years when God’s people cried out in repentance of their sin so that they might be saved, and He answered them with an outpouring of His Holy Spirit as He did with Peter in the Book of Acts. There have also been other moves of the Holy Spirit over the years, but they have never lasted very long. Why? We will get into that a bit later, but for now, hopefully, we can see that this cycle of tribulation, repentance, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit has occurred many times since Jesus came to Earth. However, the completion of the day of the Lord will occur only once, and right before this completion, we will see a “great tribulation.”

In the second chapter of Joel, he mentions a “great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations.” They bring destruction that leaves a “desolate wilderness behind them.” There have been many armies since Jesus walked the earth that have destroyed the land and people, but to say that they have been so mighty that there will never be another like them might be a bit of an overstatement.

This army is likely still to come or might be in the stage of forming right now. The type of tribulation spoken of in Joel 2:30-32, in much of Revelation, and in the Book of Daniel includes moments and events that have not yet happened. There have been many books written about a “great tribulation,” but it is not our plan in this discussion to fully digest what those words mean. We are focusing on what it means for us as believers in Christ to prepare for and “hasten” the coming day of the Lord. What does the Lord expect of us right here, right now?  Hopefully, we are beginning to understand that the Lord is asking His people right now to return to Him with repentance, prayer, and supplication. This way, we, His people, might be spared to be His workers when the power of the Holy Spirit fills the earth.  

 There are entire doctrines or belief systems written about this end-time process, and many believers today are focused entirely on what the “great tribulation” and “rapture of the Church” mean for the timing of “the day of the Lord.” I am not trying to discount or disregard any of those beliefs. I believe the Lord wants to show us how we are to live during this moment in time as His people, walking in humility, repentance, and love, being His workers in the harvest, carrying the Spirit of Christ in us, so that He might be the Lord of the Harvest in us as we “hasten” His return.  

What can we expect to see before the day of the Lord comes to an end?

Jesus said that only the Father knows the exact time when the Son of God will return to gather up His bride. It says in Joel 3:1, “For behold, in those days and at that time.” We do not know the exact time to which He is referring, but Jesus gave us signs to watch for regarding His soon return. He did not give us these warnings to cause us anxiety or fear, but that we might look forward to and “hasten” His return. As these signs become apparent, we must call out to God’s people as instructed in the Book of Joel, to gather His people together, so we can rend our hearts and not our garments. We must consecrate a fast, proclaiming a solemn assembly, sanctifying the congregation, and weep between the porch and the altar, as it says in Joel 2.

God is asking us to cry out to Him in supplication, asking Him to spare His people from the army that is devouring the earth. He wants us to do this, not for our own sake alone, but for His name's sake. Joel says, so the nations will not say of us, “Where is your God?” It is only when His people turn back to Him that God will take pity on us and be zealous for His land. This might sound a bit repetitive, but I believe the Lord wants us to understand and obey His word because the time is short. We do not have time to continue arguing or fighting amongst ourselves over man’s doctrines while waiting on His return. He is coming back soon, even if there are only a few of His people living in “holy conduct and godliness.” I sure many thought that John the Baptist sounded repetitive in His cry for God’s people to repent, but that did not deter him. Jesus warned us of this time for a reason, so that no one would be lost.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:6-8 (NIV), “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” In childbirth, birth pains not only increase as the delivery draws closer, but they also intensify and come closer together.

Over the last two thousand years, there have been many wars and rumors of wars, but as we can see right now, they are becoming increasingly more intense and frequent. We have been living in the first two chapters of Joel for a long time now, but unlike past “revivals” where God’s people cried out in repentance only to return to their slumber or death, this time, I believe we will see the Church transformed to His image and conformed to His word. We will not merely wake up. We will be changed. We will be cleansed. We will be healed. This has begun to occur in many of His people today and will occur in greater numbers as the days progress. This is the time for transformation, not only revival, and the transformed will “hasten” His return because of their love for Him.  

We must be careful and ask for God’s discernment in these difficult and trying times because many will rise and try to deceive us into following a false gospel of Jesus. Jesus said in Mark 13:21, “And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will provide signs and wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. But beware; I have told you everything in advance.” In Greek, the word for “Christ” can be translated as the “Anointed One” or the “Chosen One.” When people use the name of Jesus in vain, claiming to know Him, to be anointed by Him, or to be chosen and sent by Him, we should be careful about how we receive them. They might even show signs and wonders as Jesus said, but they will lack one important thing.

In Matthew 7:15-16, Jesus said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” In verses 20-23, He says that many will call Him Lord, but they will not enter the kingdom of heaven because they do not do the Father’s will, even if they are walking in signs and wonders. Hopefully, by now, we can see that the Father’s will is for us to allow Him to produce His works in us, such as love. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are His work. They do not come because of our own strength or might. They are the product of His efforts, a fruitful harvest, the harvest brought forth by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Without His fruit of love, we are nothing.

We must be careful to discern between the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the false fruit of the flesh. People will say that these false prophets show fruit like love or peace, but it will be a fake piece of fruit like the plastic ones you might see in a bowl on the table. We will know the real fruit by comparing it with the Word of God, as in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Jesus also said that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit, so if we see something that resembles love, but there is rotten fruit like pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, or greed, we should not let them be a part of us so that their evil fruit won't spoil the good fruit within us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” God has begun to remove these prideful and arrogant people from our midst, but He gives us His discernment and wisdom to know the difference so that we might steer clear of them.

Finally, we must be careful what we pray for and against. We must make sure our prayers align with our Father’s will, as found in the complete Word of God. If we hear someone say, “Thus says the Lord,” but the words they speak directly or even indirectly go against what we are taught in the scripture, we should be wary of them. I have heard it said that the Lord is against war and destruction, so we should pray against it. Hopefully, we can see in the scripture now that God sends the locusts and leads the army that will bring destruction to the earth, so that He might call back His people in repentance and supplication. Jesus said in Luke 21:8-9, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” We must trust that His word is true.

What must happen before the end? We must see God’s people unite in solemn repentance, deeply rending our hearts and not our outward garments alone. We must return to the Father through the Son, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and walking in His divine love. We must “hasten” the day of the Lord by walking in “holy conduct and godliness,” putting aside the things of this world that might separate us from Him. We must be focused solely on our Father’s will, just as Jesus is, and be His vessel in the earth for Him to do His work through. As it says in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” God is telling us that it is not by our own might or power, but only by His Spirit that His plans and purposes for us will be revealed and fulfilled. Only then will we be ready for the return of our Lord Jesus. Only then will we be a white and spotless bride without any wrinkle, longing for, looking for, and hastening the day of the Lord.