A group of intercessors, Christian leaders and business people from across England – some with links to Issachar Ministries – met together over three days in May. With Joel 2:15-17 as their key scripture, they had prepared themselves to meet with God through fasting. We share their report with our readers for your careful, prayerful consideration.

We began by ascending a mountain located in the very centre of the UK, to sound a prophetic trumpet calling God's people to prepare: to humble ourselves in fasting, repentance and intercession for the compromised state of the Church and the resulting state of our nation, both of which are experiencing God's judgement.

Responding to a society in chaos

Over the course of the next three days we strongly sensed the Lord saying to us:

• That he holds the sphere of the world in his hands and he is tightening his grip on it (Ps 68:1).
• There is a dam of intense evil that is set to break over the nation and the world. The hand of God has been restraining it because we have been in a season of grace in which we have had time to prepare our hearts, homes and God’s people for what lies ahead. But this season is now over; the restraining hand is about to be removed (2 Thes 2:6-12).
     The dam has been seeping ‘water’ over past years and we have witnessed the effects of this in society and the things we've experienced. But when it collapses there will be a tidal flood of wickedness, evil, depravity and darkness such as the world has never known since the days of Noah (Matt 24; Rom 1:21-32). It will wash away every last remnant of decency and morality.
     There wlil be a descent into physical, emotional, economic, social and spiritual chaos (Ezek 14:21-23). The effects of this on our way of life, the Church and the Jews will be devastating yet out of the intense suffering, persecution and martyrdom will come a purified Bride.

The effects on our way of life, the Church and the Jews will be devastating yet out of the intense suffering, persecution and martyrdom will come a purified Bride.

• In order to respond effectively to a society in chaos, God’s people need to be right in the thick of it. It's time to mobilise God’s end-time army of foot soldiers – those who are attentive to the voice of their King; those who have learned submission, meekness and obedience to follow God’s commands and are willing to carry his light of life into the darkest of places. Each of us has a choice to make: are we willing to carry his light into the darkness whatever the cost might be to us?

Enormity of the battle

The enormity of the spiritual battle that is ahead for God's people is like re-enacting Elijah's battle with the prophets of Baal (1Kings 18:16-46). The ‘voice’ of the government, royal family, media, police, education, health service – every pillar of society – is compromised with the spirit of Babylon (Baal), whose power and controlling authority is only set to increase in arrogant ecstatic intensity, not decrease.

We, the Body of Christ, need to understand that our role is:

• To recognise the reality of the battle and be willing to be a part of the solution. There are false prophets today just as ready to resist God’s people and plans as there were in Elijah’s day (2 Pet 2:1; 2Tim 4:1,16).
• To understand our bodies are the stones that comprise the altar and our hearts are the offering laid on it (1 Pet 2:4-5). We are called to live holy and godly lives that are laid down daily as living sacrifices to God (Rom 12:1-2; 2Pet 3:11-14).
• To engage with God in genuine humble-hearted identificational repentance and lamentation for our national condition. This, flowing from hearts that are fully set apart to God, is like the repeated water saturating the altar. It is a costly sacrifice but it is the only way to open a door of possibility for change (Neh 9:1-5 & 38; 2 Chron 12:7; 14:11).
• Only when this has reached its fullness will God send the fire to consume the altar and the offering on it.

This ‘fire’ will be the grace of God in the midst of the judgement ... a Pentecostal baptism, a total immersion, in the love of God.

The fire of God’s judgement

When the fire of God truly comes on the consecrated remnant of the Body of Christ, it will have the magnitude of something like a volcanic eruption. It will totally consume those on whom it falls. This ‘fire’ will be the grace of God in the midst of the judgement (Rom 5:2). The ‘fire’ will be a Pentecostal baptism, a total immersion, in the love of God (Matt 3:1). This love will be three-fold: a deeper burning of desire for God himself – for his word and his ways; a genuine love for one another; and a passionate consuming love for the lost (1 Cor 14:1).

We have prostituted ourselves with the spirit of Babylon. Now there is a slim hope for a renewal of heart, priorities and values in post-Brexit Britain as we return to our historic trading relationships. We still have a significant role on the global scene – as the last bastion of defence in Christian Europe – especially in terms of our destiny to take the gospel to the nations. We, Christ’s Body, have a choice whether to co-operate with God’s plans for our nation or not (Deut 28).

Just as the giant Gulliver had to rise up to break off his chains, God is calling his remnant body to be strong and courageous (Josh 1:9), and to rise up to take our place in his end-time purposes. If we do not take the word of warning seriously then we may not be entrusted with stewarding the power of a sovereign move of God when he sends the baptism of fire.

As the judgement and darkness only get stronger, there will be a great sifting in the world and the Church as these are consumed by the fire of God’s judgement (Isa 59:19b).

Will our hearts be prepared, ready and acceptable offerings to carry the contrasting fire of God’s Spirit to the nation in the way we discern is on his heart for us? Like a lighthouse that has its foundations dug deep down into the rock on which it’s built, we too need to be unshakeable to stand strong and shine our light in the darkness of the strongest storm. It will not happen unless we take every step to prepare our hearts NOW.

Challenge as individuals

We must recognise the enormity of this challenge to us as individuals (Prov 1:20-33). We must not fall into a deception whereby we judge our hearts to be already purified and holy, completely set apart to God. At our core we all have remnants of selfishness and sin, especially times when we have chosen to ignore God’s challenges to us. The stakes are so high that it’s time to allow him in to do a deeper work of cleansing, to lessen the footholds the enemy has in us. We will not run effectively with the fire of God if we still harbour unforgiveness and fear of man in our hearts (Luke 9:23; 14:26-33; Phil 2:5-11).

We must not fall into a deception whereby we judge our hearts to be already purified and holy, completely set apart to God.

God is calling us to be holy, pure and set apart to him in EVERY aspect of our daily lives: mind, body and spirit; our families, homes, jobs and finances. We will not achieve our destiny unless we endeavour to learn what it means to live a life of faith and faithfulness to God now; to trust in his faithful provision; to be secure in his love and be willing to persevere through hardships (Rom 10:6-11); to remain, abide or dwell in him daily, moment by moment. If we learn this lesson well NOW then we will never lack anything in the days ahead (John 15:4-8k).

Overall challenge

The obvious consequence of this is the challenge to the body of Christ to rise up in united intercession and worship, to become serious about being obedient disciples, to pursue greater purity and holiness, to wrestle with some of the ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus about the cost of following him and to lay aside all earthly agendas and determine to build only God’s kingdom.

On a practical level every church should prayerfully determine before God what practical preparations should be made to respond in such a scenario. This is a time for urgent action based on listening to God. Jesus will return for a glorious victorious and spotless bride who is head-over-heels in love with her bridegroom and will do anything to please him.

Sarah Winbow is a Christian author, teacher and intercessor. She is married to Trevor and together they ran a Prayer House in rural Cumbria for 23 years. They currently live in Wiltshire.