BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

1 0 : B V O V figure in Pentecostal circles throughout much of the 20th century with signs and wonders following his ministry. George once asked this man of great power and love, "What do you see that is different in the Church now than back then?" He was quick to respond, "We don't say enough that Jesus is coming soon. We used to say it all the time." Our day is not only one of looking for His return, but we have an active role to play in it. Where can we discover our part in this greatest of all events? The Word of God! It is actually all laid out for us in very plain view. Everything that happened in the First Coming of the Lord set a precedent for His Second Coming. We can actually look at the key figures involved in the days just before and after His birth to get a wonderful picture of the Church actively preparing the way for His return. And while we are making the way for His return, we will also be preparing ourselves as the Bride about to be joined to her Groom. Although several people are mentioned in Luke's account of Jesus' birth, and each of them worthy of study, I would like to focus on Zacharias and Elizabeth. Their story is not only essential to the First Coming of the Lord, but offers prophetic insight into His Second Coming as well. I am always looking for the flashlight of the Holy Spirit to shine on Scripture and show us things to come. John 16:13, New King James Version, says, "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." Zacharias was a descendant of Aaron, the first high priest of the Levitical priesthood. So today he would represent the fivefold ministry gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher (see Ephesians 4:11). Though New Testament ministry is different from the Old Testament, both are ordained of God to represent Him and His Word to the Covenant people. These New Testament ministry gifts are essential "for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12, For centuries, the Body of Christ lived in the shadow of that First Coming. But in the early part of the last century the Church began a turn toward the dawn of His return. The great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which began in 1901, gradually brought the restoration of the gifts of the Spirit, and most importantly, the unveiling of the Word of God as never before. But now, as all these things come together, we are clearly approaching what Proverbs 4:18, New International Version, calls "the full light of day," and His appearing is ever so close at hand. Jesus Is Coming Years ago, my husband, George, and I had the privilege of becoming well acquainted with a man named Justus du Plessis—a prominent HASTENING THE LORD'S RETURN Jeanne Wilkerson, a most powerful woman of prayer and prophecy, once said that all of history hangs on two golden hooks: the First Coming of the Lord, and His Second. "Instead of trying to live blamelessly by our own efforts, we are to live from the inside out."

• Cover