After sharing the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus began to speak about his impending return to the Father. For the disciples, the whole concept of life without Jesus must have seemed incredulous. For three years he had been the centre of their world, the very crux of their existence.
However, Jesus assured the disciples that the Father would give them another Helper of the same essence as himself — a Helper who would not only be with them, but would take up residence within them (John 14.16-17).
One of the functions of the Helper is to guide Christ’s followers into all truth — into a full understanding of God’s will and purpose. And part of his guidance involves disclosing things to come — things that are beyond the scope of human perception, but are vitally important to the Church’s mission (John 16.13; 1 Cor 2.7-10).
An example of the Spirit’s prophetic guidance can be found in Acts chapter 27 — the story of Paul’s convoluted voyage from the easter littoral of the Mediterranean to the Italian peninsula, to stand trial before the Roman Emperor. After leaving Crete, the ship was caught in a violent storm which threatened to destroy the lives of those on board.
Luke summed up the mood of the ship’s crew and passengers in the following words: “All hope that we would be saved was finally given up” (Acts 27.20). Paul, however, took a different view. Standing on the deck of the stricken vessel, he said:
“I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore, take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.” (Acts 27.22-25)
Paul was privy to information about ‘things to come’ which none of the other passengers and crew were aware of. It had been revealed to him by a messenger of God that though the ship would be lost, the lives of all those on board would be saved. Moreover, it was directly related to Paul’s mission as an apostle of Christ — to bear witness before Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel.
For this reason, Paul remained calm while those around him were panicking. Paul ‘looked up’ and anticipated the approaching deliverance while his travelling companions capitulated in fear. The knowledge of the future set Paul apart from everyone else in the boat.
Winston Churchill’s enigmatic secret
During the early years of the Second World War, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill not only faced the external threat of Nazi Germany, but also the internal threat of pacifists and appeasers in the political establishment and aristocracy who wanted to negotiate a compromise peace with Adolf Hitler.
Luminaries such as the former Secretary of State for War, Leslie Hore-Belisha, and the former Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, openly criticized Churchill’s handling of the war in the House of Commons. City magnates, Press barons, and Conservative grandees in the House of Lords colluded behind the scenes to replace the War Cabinet in general, and Churchill in particular, with more ‘reasonable’ leaders.
However, Churchill had an advantage over his critics. He had been reading Ultra decrypts of communications by the German army and Luftwaffe. He knew, for example, that despite the precarious position of the British army in North Africa, Field Marshall Rommel was running short of supplies and had been instructed not to make further attacks on Tobruk or to advance into Egypt.
Furthermore, Churchill knew that Hitler was preparing to attack Russia, which would bring Russia into the war and change the balance of power in Europe.
Standing in the House of Commons, Churchill faced his critics down, and declared: “I feel sure we have no need to fear the tempest. Let it roar, and let it rage. We shall come through.” Although he was cheered to the rafters, even his most ardent supporters in Parliament wondered if he was being overly optimistic.
History attests that Churchill was right, and his critics and opponents were wrong. Why? Because Churchill knew something that they did not.
If, as Sir Francis Bacon noted, “knowledge is power,” then the experience of Winston Churchill in World War Two demonstrates that “foreknowledge is ultimate power.”
Donald Trump and the Wind of Heaven
I must admit, I don’t particularly like Donald Trump. I don’t like his belligerent style, and I don’t like the way he attacks his political opponents. That said, I believe God has raised Donald Trump up to stem the tide of social liberalism and economic progressivism that is pervading western culture, and to support Israel in her existential struggle against the principality of Islam.
Like many conservative Christians, I was deeply concerned at the prospect of a Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Administration in the United States given some of their radical, left-wing policies. And as we all know, large sections of the media were predicting that the election was too close to call, and that if anything, Harris was marginally ahead in some of the key swing States.
About a month before the election, I felt the Spirit of God say to me, “The wind of God will blow Donald Trump into the White House.” I knew then that despite what the so-called ‘experts’ in the media were saying, Trump would win the election. And as a result, I had a deep peace in my heart, a ‘peace that surpasses all understanding,’ the kind of peace that comes from hearing the voice of God in the midst of the storm.
Although I knew that Trump would win, even I was surprised at the decisiveness of his victory. It was as though some invisible force had propelled him into a position of leadership and responsibility. It was, as the Spirit of God said, the wind of Heaven blowing him into the most powerful political office in the world.
Some Christians seem to be obsessed with the person of Donald Trump and his obvious shortcomings, and unable to recognize the transcendent purpose in his remarkable accession. But remember this: at a time of national crisis, the Lord said to Elijah: “I have commanded the ravens to feed you” (1 Kings 17.4).
Under the Mosaic Law, ravens were considered ‘unclean’ birds because they were carrion eaters (Deut 14.14). As a religious Jew, Elijah could have adopted a ‘holier than thou’ attitude, and said, “I am not eating anything that has been carried by a raven.” But if he had done so, he would have missed out on God’s provision and perished in the wilderness.
The point is, God will use whatever and whoever He deigns to accomplish His purposes. He called Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, “My servant,” and Cyrus, the King of Persia, “My anointed” (Jer 25.9; Isa 45.1).
The wind of God is blowing across the earth. This is a time of divine intervention in human affairs. And to those who have ears to hear, the Spirit is saying, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and inaccessible things, which you do not know. I will tell you things to come.” (Jer 33.3)
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