If you’re anything like me, your social media feed will be filling up with content from prominent (Charismatic) evangelicals, warning of significant upcoming conflict and disruption in the UK. This is not something any of us really want to imagine! Conflict and disruption are things that we view from a distance: they happen to other people – not to us! We’re the nation that welcomes Syrians fleeing civil war, Afghan’s escaping the Taliban, Ukrainian’s who are driven from their homeland. People who have lost everything can find a place of safety, security, sanctuary in the UK – surely!
I love the gift of prophecy and how it is used in our local church to strengthen, encourage, and console (1 Cor 14). Can God use the prophetic voice to speak to a Nation? Why not!? But I have to admit, I am naturally cautious of receiving prophetic input from people I don’t know personally, and from outside of church context in which it can be weighed and applied by trusted and appointed leaders. Having taken time to watch, listen to and read messages, over the past couple of months I’ve been encouraged to find that at the heart of each is a call for the church to move from:
- Naivety to Discernment
- Compromise to Consecration
- Passivity to Prayer
All things I can happily get on board with 😊
It happens that over the summer I’ve been walking devotionally through the book of Revelation, supported by Buist Fanning’s excellent commentary. If you are looking for a way to ground these words, and weigh them against the plumb line of scripture, and consider how to apply them in your context, the book of Revelation is a great place to start.
It takes about seventy-five minutes to read from front to back. In its pages you’ll be confronted with the reality of the deceiver who sets himself up against God, is looking to deceive humankind, and cause harm to God’s people. You’ll be persuaded of the personification of evil in the power structures of the world, and the ensuing disruption, destruction and chaos through its Geopolitical outworkings. You’ll be sobered by universal suffering that experienced by faithful alongside all of humankind. You’ll be reminded of the necessity for purity, fervency, and faithfulness in the church. You’ll be challenged by call to remain faithful to the Lamb in every trial and persecution – even to the point of martyrdom for his name.
Most importantly you’ll come face to face with the person of Jesus!
We see him walking among his churches (Ch1-3). He is the Alpha and the Omega; The First and the Last; the one who was and is and is to come; the one who was dead but now is alive. He holds a deep and intimate knowledge of each church. He cares deeply about them, speaking to each of them to ensure restore their authentic witness as beacons of his light into the darkness of the world.
We see him seated on his throne (Ch4&5). He is the one with the name of a lion and the look of a lamb that has been slain. Through every disruption, destruction and tribulation – he is sovereign – undiminished in his majesty, authority, glory. In every trial, uncertainty, and suffering – he is compassionate – continuing to bear the marks, knowing himself what it is to suffer even to the point of death, able to sympathise with us.
We see him in the battle (Ch19). He is Faithful and True, called the Word of God; the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He will lead the armies of the Lord. He will strike and rule Nations, he will trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God. He will end evil forever. He will right every wrong. He will heal every sickness. He will wipe every tear from every eye.
Hallelujah!
Here’s how it all lands with me:
Should we anticipate disruption, conflict, persecution and hardship: Yes.
Should we shake off complacency and compromise and give ourselves to following Jesus with greater devotion: Yes.
Should we respond in fervent prayer for our leaders, our nation, and the world: Yes.
Is the world actually going to come to a destuctive end: Yes.
Have these things been true every year since the resurrection: Yes.
Is it the kindness of God to draw out attention to them with fresh urgency in 2026: Yes!
Let me pitch you this: alongside every blog, podcast, conversation that has caught your attention, find seventy-five minutes to read through the book of Revelation – God’s original anti-complacency manual. Spoiler alert: The Lamb wins.
He is coming soon.
Amen! Come Lord Jesus!
