Between November 2021 and September 2022, the Lord gave us three important words for the decade of the 2020’s and beyond. When put together, they form the overarching Rhema word for the NOW — for this kairos moment. They give us a picture of what is up ahead and how we are to respond starting today.
The day was 23 November 2021…
The Lord broke in and spoke vividly to us at One Thing Ministries that three months from then, a significant event would happen that would catch the world’s attention. The Lord also emphasized that we had to pay attention to what He was going to download to us during that three-month period.
Three months later, on 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine! This event shocked the entire world and brought further shifts to people and nations worldwide.
During the three months from November to February, the Lord highlighted two key phrases to us that clearly describe the season that we have stepped into, and how the Body of Christ is to respond. The two phrases were “Historic Transitional Decade” and “Preparation for the Times”.
1. HISTORIC TRANSITIONAL DECADE
The Lord emphasized that the decade of the 2020’s will be a Historic Transitional Decade. It is a decade of High Transition.
We understood that the Covid-19 Pandemic initiated us into this decade of unprecedented seismic shifts and dramatic changes. God is quickening and intensifying the pace of transition. He used the pandemic as a catalyst to hasten and accelerate major shifts which would otherwise have taken decades if left to run their course.
Mike Bickle from the International House of Prayer, Kansas City, made a huge statement in September 2021:
“I believe that the 2020’s will be the most dramatic transitional decade in human history. I realize that this is a BIG STATEMENT, yet I believe it to be TRUE! So much is changing. The pace and the dramatic nature of the changes will continue to escalate. The world as we now know it will no longer exist as it is right now when the decade is over!”
We are going to witness dramatic and accelerated changes in all spheres of society and daily human life in this decade.
2. PREPARATION FOR THE TIMES
The Lord also corrected us, through an encounter, that this decade is more than just a “time for preparation”. It is more accurately a season of “Preparation for the Times”. He had spoken through Isaiah 42:23: “Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?”
The Lord is prophetically using the phrase “the time to come” to refer to the end of this decade. The fact that He would correct us emphasizes that we need to prepare in a way that is commensurate with the unprecedented times that are ahead.
It cannot be based on what we think the future holds, or on our own ideas of “preparation”, but has to be aligned with His narrative and strategies for His people. We need to prepare with a clear idea of what it is that we are preparing for. The intensity of preparation also has to correspond to the intensity of what 2030 will bring.
The Lord spoke a third word to us that brought clarity about the times we will be entering into at the end of this decade.
3. THE DAWNING OF A NEW ERA
On 9 June 2022, the Lord spoke to us that there was going to be another major event happening three months from then, and on 8 September, Queen Elizabeth II passed away.
Just two days before her passing, on 6 September 2022, the Lord gave us the phrase “The Dawning of a New Era”. With the Queen’s death, headline news all around the world proclaimed “the end of an era”. (Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth II reigned as a monarch for 70 years. Biblically, the number 70 signifies a “turning point” or “entering into a new era”.)
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we understood that God was indicating that this Historic Transitional Decade would transition us into a New Era in the 2030’s.
Putting these three words together, the Rhema Word of the Lord for this decade became very clear:
The decade of the 2020’s is a Historic Transitional Decade that requires the Preparation for the Times in order to be ready for the Dawning of a New Era.
It is vital for the people of God to understand this, because we need to be like the sons of Issachar who understand the times and more importantly know what we ought to do (1 Chr. 12:32).
Only when we understand the times can we respond appropriately in alignment and preparation so that we can enter into the fullness of all that He is doing.
While we can expect to see sweeping changes across society and daily life (of a magnitude not seen since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries), we need to always return to Scripture as a lens to view and interpret what is happening in the world around us.
Two key passages of Scripture give us the Biblical lens through which we can view what this decade of transition unto the New Era is about — Isaiah 60:1–3 and Psalm 2:1–3.
Isaiah 60:1–2 tells us of unprecedented spiritual darkness that will cover the world and unsurpassed glory that will be seen upon God’s people.
We are entering into a time of unprecedented escalation and acceleration of spiritual darkness in a global dimension. There will be that global convergence and emergence of darkness!
Yet, concurrently, it is also a time when God’s glory will arise and be seen upon His people — a time when many of His Biblical and prophetic promises for the End-Time generation will come to pass.
Psalm 2:1–3 prophesies of a time when global alliances will form across different nations and spheres that will lead to the convergence of rebellion against God.
Already, we can see the beginnings of this taking place, with the casting off of Biblical values and morality from society in the redefinition of morality, marriage, sexuality, gender and identity. Society and culture will become more and more anti-God.
We have to realize that this is not just an issue of moral decay. It is a spiritual issue with spiritual darkness at work!
Thus, the New Era will manifest the reality of these two extremes — unprecedented darkness over nations, but also unprecedented glory of God upon His people.
It is because of the intensity of the global spiritual darkness and the pressures that are coming that God is shouting at us about preparing for the times now. In His zeal and love for His people, He is sounding the clarion call to us to prepare so that we will be able to stand firm in Him by the time we reach 2030.
By the time we enter into the new era at the end of this decade, if we are not prepared, it will be very challenging for us to do so!
At the same time, this decade of preparation goes beyond merely resisting darkness. It is about preparing ourselves so that we will become the very kind of people that God is looking for — believers with the maturity and character to receive and carry the weight of the glory that He will pour out.
Without preparation, we will not be able to receive His glory.
Without receiving His glory, we will not be able to arise and shine.
Knowing all this, what will be our response to the Lord in this kairos hour?
May we be like the sons of Issachar who understand the times, and know what we ought to do.
May we be the ones who fully align with the Lord, who intentionally prepare ourselves in this decade of Preparation for the Times, so that we can become mature in character and strong in our inner man, and be found ready to partner with Him in the New Era that we are entering into!
We will be elaborating on what God’s glory on His people will look like and what it means to prepare for the Times in later emails. In the meantime, we encourage you to seek the Lord for revelation and understanding of the hour we are living in, and also for wisdom to know how to live in this hour.