(By Asher Intrater) One of the most precious promises in the Bible is Acts 2:17, that “In the last days it shall be,’ says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17). We understand this to be a promise of a world-wide revival in the end times. (Yeshua also said that the “harvest is the end of the world” (Matt. 13:39). Some people do not believe in such a revival in the end times. They point to the prophecies about persecution and tribulation and the Antichrist in the end times and conclude (reasonably enough) that there could be no widespread revival.
So which is it? Revival or persecution? Victory or tribulation? The answer, of course, is both. There is a revival in the midst of persecution; victory in the midst of tribulation. One way to see this balance is by an overview of the book of Revelation. There we see a clear description of the evil empire of the Antichrist and the massive murder of true believers around the world (Rev. 12, 13, 15). On the other hand, there is no book in the Bible that teaches more about victory and overcoming. Every single one of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 are enjoined to “overcome.” Presumably, this spiritual encouragement to be an overcomer is relevant to all of us as believers in Yeshua even today. READ MORE
