“My eyes have searched to and fro over the earth to find a people who will worship Me and return to My ways. The fullness of time is coming, and judgment is about to be poured out upon the earth. Great groaning and deep distress will be heard, for I have shown you that I require judgment. My standard of righteousness has been declared since the beginning of time, and all men are without excuse. My heart longs to extend mercy, but justice cries out in the streets.” (The Secret Place, Dale Fife, p. 195).
As I meditated on the prophetic word which I wrote about in my last article, I was reminded of the vision God gave Dr. Dale Fife about the restoration of the Church in the last days. It is described in his book, The Secret Place. The quote above is like the Lord’s Search described in Ezekiel chapter twenty-two, verse 30: “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” As I stated in my last article, the “man” that the Lord is searching for is not an individual intercessor, but a unified Church fulfilling her purpose as a house of prayer for all nations (Isa. 56:7). The Church of today is divided; this is not what the Lord desires.
As a young man, after coming to the knowledge of salvation, I was deeply disturbed by the divided state of the Church. What I saw was not at all the Church from the Book of Acts, which moved in power and unity. I understood that a large reason for their success was the ministry of the apostles. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42). It became my earnest prayer that God would restore to the Church the ministry of the apostles and prophets as described in Ephesians chapter four. During this season, I remember being with a group of believers in prayer when someone, who was not aware of my burden, prophesied that God would once again restore the ministry of the apostles and prophets. I rejoiced in hope that God would restore the Church.
In the eighties we began to hear about the restoration of the prophets and in the nineties, the apostles. Even if some who call themselves apostles or prophets are false, we must still recognize that God is appointing those that are true. The restoration of these ministries is crucial for the Church to “come to the unity of the faith and of knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
In the past, when ministers carried the anointing of apostles, they were confined to their denomination or movement. In the last days, it will be different. God hates the divisions that men have allowed in His Church, and He will not stand for it much longer. We must not justify these divisions by calling them “tribes”. The time is near for His return. He is returning for a “glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Eph. 5:27). In the prophetic vision, Dr. Fife was shown a disturbing picture of the Church in its divided state, then he heard the Lord say, “No more! Enough! I can’t take any more. I can’t behold any more of this in My church. I have drawn the line. Here is where it ends” (The Secret Place, p. 174). Then Dr. Fife saw a company of apostles and prophets approaching from a distance. The Lord again spoke, “I have released the apostles of My right hand and the prophets of My left hand to the work for which I have called them. In the days to come, the things that have divided My body will be rooted up and torn down. My Spirit will demolish all that separates and all that seeks to honor one above another, for all are made by My design, and all must be honored. This is the word of the Lord. It shall be done. The structures that are man-made will be shaken and will fall. My true bride, My holy bride, will come forth in all her glory.” (The Secret Place, p. 180). God says, “It shall be done!”. The choice is ours to hear the voice of the Spirit and obey.
The question remains, then, can judgment be averted if the Church takes her place as a house of prayer for all nations? Scripture is clear that the world will grow more evil in the last days. Judgment will come to this earth, but it can be averted in areas where God’s people repent and pray. God will be merciful to those who humble themselves and pray, and seek God’s face, and turn from their sins (2Chron. 7:14). Dr. Fife goes on to write, “As Jesus spoke, I observed, through the glass floor, places on the earth where smoke was rising up from the land. These clouds of smoke appeared to be a special kind of signal or message; they billowed forth like a great cry rising up from the inhabitants. This smoke did not signify destruction or judgment. Instead, these were the cities and places where repentance and intercession had been offered on behalf of the land. Some of these cities were actually glowing in the night darkness because the prayers of the saints were continuously being offered up to the Lord.” (The Secret Place, p. 196).
The unity that God desires is achievable. It is spiritual in nature. It exists in God, and we can experience it if we abide in Him. If that was not so, Jesus would not have prayed for it (Jn. 17:20,21). We can endeavour “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). As we do this, we will “come to the unity of the faith and of knowledge of the Son of God”. We are a family and God expects us to love one another.
“Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord and he will turn the hearts of fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Mal. 4:5,6)
Highway in the Wilderness 