Episode 13 THE VISION BY RICK JOYNER
Reflecting on the Dream
Months later, I sat pondering this dream. Alarmingly, certain events and conditions in the church had already seemed to parallel what I had seen when the hordes from hell had begun to march. I was then reminded of Abraham Lincoln. The only way he could become a great emancipator and the preserver of the Union was to be willing to fight a Civil War. Not only did he have to fight it, but he had to be determined not to compromise until the victory was complete.
Lincoln also had to have the grace to fight the bloodiest war in our history without "demonizing" the enemy with propaganda. If he had done that, he might have been able to galvanize the resolve of the North much faster, facilitating a quicker military victory. However, it would have made the reunion after the war much more difficult. Because he was truly fighting to preserve the Union, Lincoln never made the men and women of the South the enemy, but rather the evil that held them in bondage.
A great spiritual civil war now looms before the church.
Many will do everything they can to avoid it. This is under-standable, and even noble. However, compromise will never maintain a lasting peace. It will only make the ultimate conflict that much more difficult when it comes-and come it will.
The Lord is now preparing courageous leaders who will be willing to fight a spiritual civil war in order to set men free. The main issue, as in the American Civil War, will be slavery versus freedom. The secondary issue, which will be the primary issue for some, will be money.
Just as the American Civil War at times looked like it would destroy the entire nation, that which is coming upon the church will sometimes appear as if it will bring the end of the church. However, just as the United States not only survived but went on to become the most powerful nation on earth, the same is going to happen to the church. The church will not be destroyed, but the institutions and doctrines that have kept men in spiritual slavery will be.
Even after this, perfect justice in the church will not be attained overnight. There will still be struggles for women's rights and setting the church free from racism and exploi-tation. These are all causes that must be confronted. Yet, in the midst of the coming spiritual civil war, Faith, Hope and Love—and the kingdom of God they stand upon—will begin to be seen as they never have before. This will begin drawing people to the kingdom. God's government is about to be demonstrated as greater than any human government.
Let us always remember that with the Lord "a thousand years is as a day." He can do in us in one day what we think would take a thousand years. The work of liberating and raising up the church will be accomplished much quicker than we may think is humanly possible. However, we are not talking about human possibilities.