Received:  October 12, 2024; Published October 16, 2024 – Download PDF:  10.16.25.The Lord Will Shake the Earth

By the Lord’s Spirit, I saw the Lord taking the earth between His hands and rocking it, revealing the severity with which the Lord is about to move.  There won’t be anything to hold onto in the midst of the shaking/rocking, other than Him.  In the midst of the shaking of Egypt, Moses stood firm as the Lord moved in great signs, wonders, miracles, and judgments against that nation.  While the Lord led His people through the desert, He provided for them, giving them victory over their enemies, and when required, He released judgment against them.  It is helpful to realize that when the Lord led His people out of Egypt, they were no longer in control; they were utterly dependent upon Him.  The same thing will take place as the Lord releases His judgment in the shaking of the world.  We must stand firm, grounded in our faith and trust in the Lord.

The Lord then revealed, “The shaking of the earth will be severe.”  Standing in the Lord is where the peace of the Lord is.  There, one can see the darkness for what it is.  We may see buildings collapsing, but we can stand knowing that we are witnessing the Lord’s power as He shakes the earth.  The darkness and destruction will be real, but herein lies the truth of what is described in Psalm 91.  We must be intentional to abide under the shadow of His wings, where we understand what the Lord is doing.  It is crucial to be on the path that the Lord has called all of us to be on, and not to move in the sin of presumption.

As the Lord shakes those things that can be shaken, He alone is our only refuge.  He, being our refuge, is not a place of intellect; it is a place of knowing, i.e., experiential.  It is tangible, similar to the Lord manifesting His presence in a service.  You may see and or sense the pulsating evil in the darkness, but it cannot overtake you.  The Lord commanded Moses to “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness that can be felt” (Exodus 10:21 NASB; cf. Deut 28:29; Job 5:12-14).  Darkness fell across the land of Egypt for three days, but Israel had “light in their dwellings” (Ex 10:23).  So too in the days to come, the Lord will release great spiritual darkness in the earth, to the extent that the darkness will be felt, but the Glory of the Lord will rise upon His people (see Isaiah 60).  He is the ark to those who abide in Him in the midst of great shaking, destruction, and spiritual darkness.  In the Spirit, I could see the darkness that will come.  This was confirmation of what He had previously revealed to me.

What the Lord is about to do is similar to what happened to those on the ship with Paul as they sailed to Rome.  The wisdom of the ship owner, captain, and Julius the centurion came to nothing as the storm, a danger that Paul foretold (Acts 27:9-10), began to rage.  Just before disaster struck, Luke, the writer of Acts, says, “supposing that they had gained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore” (Acts 27:13 italics mine).  Their supposing is an example of what the sin of presumption is and how it operates.  Those deciding to press on to Rome were moving in man’s wisdom rather than revelation from the Lord that had been given to Paul.  Their supposing led to disaster.

Luke records that the storm was so severe that the crew began to jettison the cargo, and on the third day, they began to throw the ship’s tackle overboard (Acts 27:18-19).  All those aboard did not see the sun nor the stars for many days, causing them to forsake any hope of being saved (Acts 27:20).  I would submit that this is precisely the goal of the Lord in pouring out judgment like rain as He shakes the earth and all those that are “on board.”  He will bring us to the end of our plans, our strategy, our wisdom, our thinking, and ourselves.  It is then that He will reveal Himself in His Glory to the world so that they can be saved through His Son, Jesus the Christ.  He will be the great light in the darkness.

Like Moses, Paul stood in faith in the midst of the storm with the Lord’s prophetic revelation released from an angel (Acts 27:23-24).  He alone had the word of the Lord, assuring all of them that they would not lose their lives (Acts 27:22), but they would reach “a certain island”, which we know was Malta (Acts 27:23-26).  This dramatic revelation through Paul gave the centurion, who had rejected his counsel previously, the courage to follow Paul’s direction concerning preventing some sailors who thought they could escape by taking over the ship’s boat they had been towing (vs 31).  The centurion gave the order to his soldiers to cut the ropes of the ship’s boat, letting it fall away (vs 32).  This was a dramatic shift in who those aboard were listening to.

It was Paul who encouraged everyone to eat and not to worry.  He took bread, gave thanks, and began to eat, demonstrating his faith in the Lord based upon the revelation he had received.  In like manner, the world will be looking to those who hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and preach His revelation that will bring multitudes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

So, when we see the effects of the great shaking that the Lord is bringing, we can know that He told us about it ahead of time (please refer to Isaiah 44:6-8, 48:3-11; Mt 24:25 || Mk 13:23; Jn 14:29, 16:1-4; Gal 5:21).  There is comfort there.  In the days ahead, we may feel out of control, but He is in control.  We need Him to guide our footsteps to solid ground.  We must receive the Spirit’s revelation to accomplish His work.

As the darkness increases, great revelation will be released to the Church.  Therefore, let us stay in step with the Spirit, walking in obedience to Him and His word.

Mark C. Biteler