Imagine you’re John the Baptist. For years you have been living a life of consecration unto the Lord in the wilderness. You have been told the prophecy given by the angel to your father regarding your life’s call and you begin your ministry of preaching repentance in light of God’s coming Kingdom.
Furthermore, the God of Israel has spoken to you: “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptises with the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 1:33). Thus, as you baptise many in the Jordan, your heart awaits in eager expectation for the revealing of the Messiah…
The third Jordan River crossing that God is bringing His people through is signified by the transition from John the Baptist to Jesus. It is a transition into greater glory and intimacy with God that will result in God’s people carrying, walking in, and manifesting an unprecedented measure of His glory!
We get a glimpse of what this transition into glory is about at Jesus’ baptism (Matt. 3:13–17).
With John the Baptist baptising Jesus, he was in essence passing on his ministry to Jesus. And what a transition it was! The heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended and rested on Jesus, and the Father broke in and spoke His affirmation over Him. This is the glory that the End-Time Church will have!
The End-Time Church will walk in these realities that Jesus walked in as a Man on earth:
Open Heavens
Just as the heavens opened over Jesus, the End-Time Church will experience open heavens, with His Presence and the supernatural being a norm in our midst. Zechariah 8:23 will be a reality for the End-Time Church as God’s Presence, leadership, power, and glory are evident in the midst of His people.
God’s Spirit Resting in Fullness
Jesus was the only One upon whom the Spirit came and rested. Nowhere else in Scripture do we see this, because nowhere else in Scripture do we see Someone who is so aligned with God the Father, that the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2) can come and rest on, and not have any strife with.
This means that the End-Time Church will be in complete alignment with God! This means that the fullness of God’s Spirit is going to rest upon the End-Time Church in the way that it rested on Jesus!
Encounters with God
Just as the Father broke in with His audible voice to make Himself known, the End-Time Church will have an unprecedented revelation of God and encounters with who God is — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We will be people who truly know our God (Jn. 17:3, Dan. 11:32)!
Living and Walking in the Father’s Love
Jesus lived and walked in a deep love relationship with His Father. He was God’s beloved Son, and He loved God the Father back with all His heart, mind, soul and strength.
Similarly, the End-Time Church will experience the love of the Father and live out the First Commandment, loving Jesus the same way the Father loves Him (Jn. 17:26).
Wow! What an inheritance the Lord has prepared for us to step into!
The Kairos Prophetic Moment
But wait, haven’t these realities always been available for the saints since the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus? Yes, they have! In fact, Jesus has always wanted to give this glory that He had to His people (Jn. 17:22), and He has already made the way.
However, this is the kairos hour where we will see this coming to pass for an entire generation. This is the prophetic moment that God is especially inviting His global Church to enter into.
Indeed, this prophetic moment has been about 30 years in the making. God set it up through the supernatural healing and death of a woman whose life was used to prophesy about this important moment in God’s Kingdom.
It was April 1990…
Anna Cain, a 105-year-old prophetic woman of God from Texas, USA, was on her deathbed. She had been in a coma for about two months, and her son, Paul Cain, was at her bedside. Before lapsing into the coma, she had told Paul that before she died, she would give him one of the most important prophetic words he’d ever receive.
However, with her in a coma, would she be able to before passing on?
On the day of her passing, she suddenly awoke from her coma just long enough to prophesy to her son, before losing consciousness again. The message was this: what Jesus did in Luke 4:18 would be a reality in Paul’s life and in the lives of many others in this generation.
She died shortly after. The date of her death was April 18 (4/18) exactly at 4:18pm! Wow, surely this is God’s supernatural confirmation of His Word through her!
(Anna Cain’s life was marked with astounding miracles and supernatural works of God. However, as the full story would be too lengthy to recount here, some links to her story are provided at the end of this issue.)
Luke 4:18 At Last
20 November 2019…
Chris Reed (the current acting president of MorningStar Ministries) receives a prophetic word from the Lord: “When the prince will pass, it will be 418 at last.” He does not know the meaning of it, but understands that it will be a timing indicator for an important season in God’s kingdom.
Fast forward to 9 April 2021…
Prince Philip of England passes away. Chris Reed, who is at IHOPKC for a visit on that day, is reminded of the prophetic word he received. He releases it to Mike Bickle and the IHOPKC family. They immediately know it refers to the prophecy given by Anna Cain on her deathbed.
With yet another supernatural confirmation from God, we have, without a shadow of a doubt, entered into the Luke 4:18 season in His Kingdom!
What is The Luke 4:18 Promise About?
In essence, it is about the fullness of the Isaiah 11 seven-fold Spirit of God resting upon God’s people, just like how the Spirit came and rested upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt. 3:16, Lk. 3:22)!
The implications of this are huge!
Just like how Jesus went forth after His baptism in the authority and power of the Holy Spirit and walked in the reality of the Luke 4:18 mandate, we too will be able to walk in the same way He did.
Not only did He overcome Satan’s temptation in the wilderness, but He advanced the Kingdom of His Father with signs, wonders, and miracles, from a place of walking in deep intimacy and oneness with God the Father (Matt. 4:1–10,23–24; Jn. 5:19–20).
This is the glory that is available for us to enter into in this Luke 4:18 season!
Entering Into the Glory of God
In the midst of the escalating Isaiah 60:2 deep darkness, God promises the Isaiah 60:1 glory that will rise over His people. It is His pre-emptive strike!
However, knowing that God is going to increase His glory in our midst does not automatically translate to us being able to receive and carry it. We need to posture and prepare ourselves correctly so that we can carry it and walk in it.
The Lord spoke to us that if we would open up the “Revelation 3:20 door of our hearts”, He would open up the “Revelation 4 door of glory” to us.
More than just asking for His Spirit to come and rest on us, or for an increase in signs and wonders, we need to intentionally open our hearts to Him unto aligning ourselves with Him in every area of our lives.
We need to walk on the highway of holiness, remove every mixture in our hearts and lives, and imitate our ultimate Model — Jesus Himself. That the Holy Spirit could rest upon Him was because of His total obedience, utter surrender, and complete oneness with God the Father.
Indeed, this is a glorious transition that the Lord is inviting us to enter into.
May we take heed and arise as a generation walking just like Jesus did when He was on this earth!
Some links to Anna Cain’s story and the significance of Luke 4:18:
Story of Paul Cain’s Miraculous Birth & Life
YouTube: A New Season & Chris Reed’s Vision Related to Luke 4:18