What if I told you I know a way to virtually guarantee your escape in the end times? You'd like that right? It’s something that changes you and what you see in your life nearly every day, and lets you know always you are not alone and that God is with you. Read on for my (final?) answer on what to do if you want to make sure you survive the end.
Do You Want To Survive The Tribulation?
Why are you here? After twenty years of talking to readers, I can hazard a guess. Most of you are driven by simple curiosity. You look for or have found answers to your prophecy questions here that finally make sense for you. For example, questions like who are the 144,000 and why is the tribe of Dan missing from them (or is it)? The other big reason people read my site is out of fear. They want to find comfort about a very frightening Bible subject, such as how to avoid the mark of the Beast. Or they may want to make sure they make it to safety in the perilous times ahead.
Helping people who have the goal of escaping the end is what I see as my main calling. If I can reduce your fear at the same time, all the better. It’s no surprise to me that the readers who want practical guidance on escaping (not the curiosity-driven ones) feel greater gratitude for my work, which leads them to become supporters.
So...what is my answer for those who want to ensure their end-time escape?
Not what you’d think.. or what I initially thought.
Early on in my studies in the late 1990s, I realized that understanding prophecy better has little connection to surviving it. The “escape” part of escapeallthesethings.com (Lk 21:36) is not based on knowing something (e.g., Jesus) and waiting for the escape to come to you (e.g. the “pretrib rapture” airlift to heaven). We know this because Jesus connected escape to persistent action:
Luke 21:36 (HCSB) — But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.
This verse intrigued me. Here was a direct instruction from Jesus on the question of end-time survival. In it, he contradicted the Christian notion that a one-time choice or piece of knowledge would be enough to save you. This implied the popular “pretribulation rapture” doctrine is false for teaching that simply becoming a Christian makes one exempt from the Great Tribulation. It just does not take ongoing prayer or strength to become a Christian or accept Jesus. This insight left me wondering about the nature of this survival strength that one needed to pursue “at all times.”
Several Misunderstandings of “Strength to Escape”
Over the years my understanding of what Jesus said about strength to escape has definitely evolved. Here’s the progression as best as I can recall and summarize for you. I am sure some readers may have had or still have similar misconceptions or only partial conceptions that I did:
- “Study Bible Prophecy!” Like many, I started out realizing that most Christians avoid Bible prophecy. I judged this as negligent, lazy, or cowardly (it scares them). If only they were “more like me” and read their Bible including prophecy, then they would know what the escape plan was. Then the strength Jesus said to pray for would help them through the difficulty of leaving home to join that plan. But I did not realize yet that not everyone enjoyed Bible study enough to stick with it and get answers like I could. I only learned later that I had certain gifts (like curiosity, OCD, ADHD, etc.) that equipped me to succeed at the challenge that Bible study is.
- “Look for Elijah!” Soon after I noticed that the full end-time escape plan (especially the exact timing) was not all there in Bible prophecy. Therefore studying prophecy was not the answer. When I discovered in the Bible that Elijah the Prophet was due to come again (Malachi 4:5-6) because John the Baptist was not the final/full fulfillment of that, I knew that he would be needed to fill in the blanks. Therefore, my new conclusion was that Elijah was the key to escaping. If you did not miss Elijah’s coming, you would be fine! That lasted until it dawned on me that no one would be able to miss Elijah because he was the one who fulfills Jesus’ prophecy of the Good News coming to all nations before the end (Mt 24:14).
- “Count the Cost Now!” Later I began to hear from worried readers on what might stop them from listening to Elijah. They dreaded having to leave their family behind, not having the money to travel or even health or age challenges stopping them. I began to make a list of these obstacles to the escape and warned people to start praying and working through them now ahead of time. This includes the obstacle of being offended by God himself, causing our “love to wax cold” just as Jesus predicted. My epic “Learn the Bad News, too” (not just the good news) article was a milestone in preparing readers for that. Another article I wrote along those lines was about how everyone will know when Wormwood comes that God did it, converting all atheists to believers, but not positive, happy ones. Then I saw how Elijah will also be offensive on purpose just like Jesus was, making him nearly impossible to accept. Only those who have learned what Jesus taught about judging prophets not by their doctrines but by their fruits (love and other fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5) will accept Elijah. Those who reject Elijah will reject the escape plan of God he is teaching. They will be on their own like the world with a slim chance for survival.
- “Repent for Divine Help!” Finally, I came to see how ridiculously impossible the situation will be of moving to a radioactive fallout country (Israel) which the world will likely vilify. It will look plain wrong or even foolish to go there, no matter how much mental preparation you make in accordance with my previous advice. Without being so close to God that you are able to get answers and guidance from him directly, I felt it would be impossible to say yes to this escape plan (much like, say, an offer to move from America to go live in North Korea). To get divine help like that requires true humility-based repentance (Mt 18:3-4) which few Christians have heard of, let alone practice. I wrote an article on the three ingredients to be saved so you do not hear “depart from me I never knew you” to help readers get there. When you are in humility with God and your neighbor, you can love God and your neighbor as yourself. That’s the narrow path. When you’re on it, God’s divine guidance comes to you regularly, the kind of help we all will need to escape the end times.
But there is a better, more potent and constant way to get divine guidance that has just become more accessible than ever which I’ll share below...
The Demoralizing, Depressing Slog of Loving Others For God
I was sure repentance and loving others to draw close to God was the ultimate answer on “how to make sure you escape.” If you take care of doing God’s law, he’ll take care of you (Mt 6:33).
When you accept that Jesus taught us to love our neighbor (Mt 7:12) and then you get serious about doing what your professed Lord requires (Lk 6:46), you will quickly discover why so few Christians actually commit to live their life that way. Trying to love normal, disgusting, rude, ugly, ungrateful, arrogant, racist, selfish people around you will give you a new appreciation for what Jesus did. “Love thy neighbor” is a simple truth, but far from easy or fun to do.
In fact, you will fail so often and utterly at it that you will soon become demoralized. How can you suck so badly at what Jesus said was required for “entering the kingdom” / to have eternal life (Mt 19:17=Mt 7:21-23)? In fact, many whom we have counseled have given up and even fallen away from the faith in self-loathing or depression. (No joke. Try it yourself for a week and you’ll understand.)
What’s the solution? We found that healthy self-esteem (the implication of the second half of “Love your neighbor as yourself”) is a prerequisite. The failures and negative feelings of this “narrow path” (Mt 7:13) will trigger anyone who is prone to self-rejection, self-loathing, self-pity, or low self-esteem. Teaching proper, healthy self-love or narcissism must come into focus. In other words, seeing yourself the way God sees you is essential. Thankfully, we have learned a lot about helping the average person to cease from reflexively beating themselves up (unfair judgment). Sharing practical techniques on staying in self-acceptance proved to be a game-changer for people to stay on the narrow path, connected to God and receiving his guidance.
Jesus’ “Unless You Become Like A Child...” Breakthrough
The main problem to solve after that was discouragement. People frequently reported discouragement over a lack of progress in changing their thoughts and behaviors to align with Jesus’ teaching.
It’s true: growth in loving yourself, loving your neighbor, and loving God comes at a snail’s pace for most of us. You can focus for months on a single issue and not see any improvement. For example, one sister struggled for literally years with hatred of her ex-son-in-law’s abuse and later persecution of her daughter (until she finally prayed in humility, “God, what am I missing?”). Once in a while someone might make an encouraging comment or be impressed with how you acted in a difficult situation, but for many, this leaves them needing a lot of encouragement from others in a support group to keep going and not give up. It’s that hard to be on the narrow path which is why few are there (Mt 7:14).
OK...I know the above is not a very encouraging report of what it’s like to practice the requirements for salvation and survival. Unless you are convinced (like I and others are) that you are not saved unless you persist in bearing mature, lasting fruit of love of others (Mk 4:19=John 15:16), you won’t keep at it. At least not under normal conditions.
Thankfully, those “normal conditions” changed in early 2020. It happened for my household a couple months after my wife and I began praying for humility in January 2020. It was a sermon I heard that month which finally clarified for me a persistent mystery on what Jesus meant when he said we “must become like a child.” He meant that without “childlike humility” you will “never be saved” (Mt 18:3-4). Let me tell you, as much as you might try to humble yourself, only God can get you to that childlike-level of humility. On your own, you’ll always stop long before that because being humbled is painful and makes us very uncomfortable. God, on the other hand, will not stop your process prematurely (Php 1:6). He will keep piling things on to break you down past the point of saying “uncle!” (Isn’t he great?)
How COVID-19 Broke Us
In late March, when COVID reached beyond China to affluent nations and social distancing restrictions were introduced that disrupted our lives, humility hit us hard. Stuck at home in close quarters, we were triggering each other. Hurts and emotions were being brought up. That may sound like a setup for lots of cold shoulders, arguments, and even fights. However, after years of practicing “love thy neighbor” and “I’m not alone; God is with me” as habits, we each went to God about how bad we were feeling. Apart from a few lapses, we did not externalize our pains on each other. We stayed humble and inward-looking. That’s very pleasing to God and he rewards it.
"Depart From Me, I Never Knew you!" - Jesus
Jesus predicted that he will tell many sincere believers to basically "get lost" instead of welcoming them into the Kingdom. So...who are they and what did they miss or do wrong? In this study, get those answers and the one requirement for salvation Jesus taught (that Christianity misses) so that you can make sure you don't hear these dreaded words yourself!
By April we were confessing our sins to each other in tears. We found as we went that deep that inner healing was happening which allowed us to love ourselves better. Dysfunctional belief systems like “I am not enough” and “I am not loveable” were revealed and healed by God amidst even more tears. Personally, I had not cried in twenty years but I seemed to be making up for all of it in the space of a week if that gives you an idea of how much weeping was involved. (I had no idea how important this crying and emotional vulnerability was as I will explain below.)
I know that I was not alone in this because I was beginning to receive emails from others expressing heartfelt repentance and desire for God. COVID-19 was bringing humility and associated repentance to many saints around the world at the same time. It was perhaps a manifestation of the refinery or crucible Jesus advised this lukewarm generation (Rev 3:15) of the church to seek (Rev 3:18) for salvation before they were spat out of Jesus’ mouth (Rev 3:16).
“Holy Spirit Activation” Brings Encouraging Improvements
That’s when we noticed changes that one could only attribute to the help of the Holy Spirit. It seemed to be on us in a new way. Sure, the Holy Spirit inspires the thoughts of all believers to give answers and guidance on what to do. Hopefully, we are all familiar with that. At the same time, we probably admit that we see evidence of it in our lives far, far less often than we would like or think it should. That frequency problem was now fixed. The Holy Spirit was stronger and provided quicker answers, clearer guidance, more divine appointments, and again, more revelation of the heart and emotions for deeper repentance and healing. We were elated!
Best of all, the hard work of having love for others, acting on that love, trusting God in hard times, and loving ourselves became markedly easier. It had to be the Holy Spirit so we called what happened “Holy Spirit activation” for lack of a better term because we knew it was not yet a full “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
To appreciate the significance of me to now be talking about the availability of the Holy Spirit, you have to read my book Know the Future. In it, I wrote about my difficulty in accepting that Christians today generally are “baptized by the Holy Spirit” or even “have the Holy Spirit.” When I objectively compare the fruits of Christians to the fruits I see of the apostles or the spirit-filled saints in Acts, to me, it’s apples and oranges =). Also, although I have sought to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit from those who claim to have it or thought they could help me get it, nothing ever came of that. No tongues, no prophecy, no dreams, no visions. I got the hint and resolved myself to just seek God diligently without expecting any Holy Spirit empowerment or assistance. I also saw this as how most believers in history have lived, anyway, outside of the prophets, the 72 elders under Moses (Num 11:16-30), the apostles, 72 disciple emissaries (Luke 10:1-23), and the deacons (Acts 6:1-7; like Stephen and Philip). Most saints seemed to serve God out of sheer will power. Since I knew what God wanted me to do (love), I was not going to make any excuses or be distracted by side quests that would stop me from doing it.
Perhaps now you can understand why when I say the Holy Spirit is on us and helping us daily in a strong way for the first time in our lives, it’s no small thing coming from me. I did not expect anything like this for myself until the final Day of Pentecost when the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is due to fall on all the saints. Yet, I should have known better, if I could only believe Jesus’ words below in Luke:
Matthew 7:11 — So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Luke 11:13 — So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
I used to always favor Matthew’s reading as the original over Luke’s based on what I was seeing and experiencing. I could not believe that the Holy Spirit would be given to just anyone at any time in history. Thankfully, I was wrong!
What is Having the Holy Spirit Like?
What is guidance by the Holy Spirit like? You could compare it to driving a car with a GPS navigation system. Imagine going back to paper maps and scribbled notes on turns and you know what it’s like to not have that guidance. Driving becomes tedious. One wrong turn throws you into a difficult situation with loss of bearings and a struggle to get back on course. GPS guidance can prevent that from ever happening and it offers easy rerouting instructions if it does.
However, for GPS to help requires something not so easy: you must stay slow, pay attention and obey what you hear. If you are (illegally) distracted on the phone, or by strong unprocessed emotions or by the rude driver tailgating you, you can easily miss the instruction for the next turn and go off course. Sometimes we doubt whether the GPS is accurate or we disagree with it and disobey it on purpose. (How many times have you done that and regretted it?) The Holy Spirit offers divine guidance but it does not force you to do anything. It is so easy to dismiss. If GPS were to deactivate after you clearly indicated by your driving that you really do not want to follow what it says anymore, that would complete the analogy of how the Holy Spirit works. The Holy Spirit hears you voting for it to leave you alone so it gets quenched and departs. That’s why the New Testament says to not quench the Spirit (1Th 5:19). You are always free with God to decide you want your old life back and resist the Holy Spirit.
How does this change things for end-time escape? Just as can happen when driving, in the end-time the actual correct path to safety will look like a wrong turn to you; even an unsafe way to go. If left to our own knowledge and abilities alone, we will decide against that scary direction and pick another that ends up putting us out of God’s protection. With the Holy Spirit, we can get the assurance that the scary path is the right path to safety. It will still require having strength and faith to choose that path, trusting that somehow it will be alright with God, even if we cannot logically explain how. But it starts with getting that clear divine confirmation on the wrong-looking path being right and necessary.
Why Is The Holy Spirit Proliferating Now?
So what is my theory as to why the Holy Spirit has shown up among so many now?
I never for a moment wondered why. To me, it’s obvious that the end indeed is coming this decade (2024-2030) as all my research and dreams have led me to conclude and share in my writing lately. Whether 2024 is exactly the start or not is not important; this is the decade and with how slowly we humans learn and grow, we need these first few years to get ready starting now.
If that is the case, then I believe the Holy Spirit would come first on those who have already been diligently seeking for years, if not decades. “Those who prepare themselves will be used,” my pastor used to often say. I think they will be used to help prepare the rest of the Bride. Those of us who have been practicing God’s law of love on our own for years to prepare ourselves (Rev 19:7) can now “level up” to be more effective for the body. Consider how Peter was before he was baptized in the spirit (arguing with and even denying Jesus) compared to after (a powerful, spirit-led apostle). Transformation akin to that is what you can expect in your HS leveling-up (although HS activation is less dramatic than the baptism in the spirit that Peter had as an apostle).
It’s time for love to shine brightly with God’s help (Mt 5:16). For that to be, the impurities in the way clouding the light must be removed. The Holy Spirit enables that kind of healing and purification (Rev 21:4).
So now (I hope) you’re wondering how do you get this activation for yourself, right?
We have been working with serious supporters online who have also received the Holy Spirit indwelling in the past months. Seeing them change and minister to each other instead of leaning on us (too much previously) is refreshing and encouraging. However, we are limited in our time to work with people directly. For this to scale and spread, ideally, a method was needed so readers can get activated on their own...
How A Dream Healed and Activated A Reader Independently
Just over a month ago, I would not have been able to help you receive the Holy Spirit on your own. But something happened to change that just recently.
A long-time supporter, Kristine, emailed me regarding an end-time dream she had with an appearance by yours truly. Naturally, Kristine was reluctant to tell me her dream, fearing it was not really from God or, even if it was from God, that I would have no insight on it. But she did bravely share it, thankfully for all.
As soon as I read the dream, I knew she had heard from God. It was a simple dream about me informing her personally that the “beginning of sorrows” had begun and to tell everyone to move to Israel, curiously by both a regular mail letter and a voice message that arrived simultaneously somehow. That double communication seemed strange, but since she has been a loyal reader and supporter for twelve years already, I would expect her to still be a reader I would inform when the end began. Also, she did not know that I was already in phone contact with a handful of supporters like her who had asked for special help. For me, it was not hard to imagine that I might help her by phone, too. Therefore, I had no reservations about replying, “You are hearing from God” regarding her dream and let her know that, like the dream showed, she could get special personal help with us if she wanted. She took up that offer immediately.
To my surprise, this short confirmation affected her deeply. She cried every day for a week, not even understanding why at first. Like most readers who consult with us, she had doubts God was happy with her or her inconsistent efforts to seek and please him. (This is one of the common indications of a lack of self-love that I referred to above.) To hear a Bible teacher who she respects confirm that God had indeed spoken to her about her future forced her to reexamine how she saw her relationship with God. At the end of that week when we got to talk with her personally, she heard us say something that made her realize why she had been crying. She had been afraid of being rejected by God all this time but for whatever reason, receiving the dream was powerful evidence disproving that belief for her.
She also reported other changes and insights on our call:
- She had grown to accept herself easily crying which she had been put down for and embarrassed about often in the past.
- She grew in her love for all people, a godly love.
- She began to get more dreams, as well.
- Two of her favorite articles were both on the same subject and passage of Matthew 7:21-23, the prophecy of Jesus rejecting Christians with “Depart from me I never knew you!” Those articles teach people to actually practice loving others like Jesus taught (Mt 7:12) because our salvation depended on it. She had begun practicing that years ago. After her breakthrough and week of crying, she was no longer just practicing but seeing more fruit than ever.
After hearing her report, Katrina said she was pleased to learn that someone got activated by the spirit before we ever helped or counseled them. The only interaction with us before her activation was my positive comment on her divine dream. Shortly after our session, I began to recognize things in her process that were common to all, including Katrina, me, and others we had worked with. A pattern emerged and I realized that all the steps in the pattern could be done by anyone on their own without needing our help.
That’s the genesis of this article you are now reading.
Holy Spirit Activation Steps
Here is how I see and can best describe the steps to activation of the Holy Spirit:
- Diligently seek God’s will (Heb 11:6) - For most, this step typically involves trying out religions, Christian denominations, and Bible research with Google, sermons, books, podcasts as one tries to answer “God, what do you want?” (among other questions). This can take years or even decades of going down rabbit trails. For me, this started at age 16 when I read the whole Bible. Yet it still took me almost three decades (on and off) and trying out several Christian denominations and progressive phases of life to advance to the next step.
- Accept that God’s law or will is love (Mt 7:12) - Jesus summed up the entire Bible at the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount as “do unto others” or the Golden Rule. Yet we all gloss over that point given how unremarkable it seems. We do not try to actually adopt love as our conscious value until it hits us as the answer to the Father’s will that Jesus said we must do for salvation (Mt 7:21). When it does hit you, there may be some excitement at the discovery. That’s how I felt and what Kristine reported she felt after reading my “depart from me” articles. To finally find the answer to your question on what God wants is thrilling enough, but to have it be such a sensible answer that inspires you or is something you already want to do, is enough to make some cry for joy (as Kristine did—see below).
- Adopt love for others, God’s will as your will=True Repentance (Lk 8:21) - Nearly everyone would agree “love is the answer” or “love is all you need,” as the songs go. However, a philosophy of love is not the same thing as a practice of love. It takes being convicted of the absolute necessity of love to get yourself into daily practice of it. You also need single-mindedness about it. I believe this requires dropping religion and even concern about Bible “doctrine” to maintain focus on love. Even then, you will fail most of the time. Seeing failures and lack of progress will make you feel awful about yourself and even depressed. You will want to quit, but only those who persist in doing God’s law of love on their own will receive the Holy Spirit to help later.
- Know God Accepts and is Good To You (Heb 11:6): You may think this is easy or that you already know and do this. But nearly all of us have major blockages in the area of self-acceptance and self-judgment. Your negative self-image basically says that although God is “love” (1Jn 4:8) and is good to others, you’re a special case who is outside God’s acceptance and love. God doesn’t like you—how can he based on what you do or fail to do even when you “know better?” This “stinkin’ thinkin’” is critical to fix because it’s a subtle rejection of God and his love. It’s out of the faith; it’s in fear and doubt. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that to come to God we must know he rewards (because he is good) those who diligently seek him; no exceptions including yourself. When you do not get this lie corrected and out of your habitual thinking, you are not receiving God and his love. You’re rejecting him! That keeps the HS out, too.
- Emotional Vulnerability and Weeping: This step was an unexpected discovery for me. I had no idea how important the emotions God put in us are for having the HS indwell. Just as people have a hard time not unfairly judging themselves as unacceptable to God, they also have a hard time feeling, expressing, and accepting their emotions. We feel out of control and vulnerable when we’re emotional. Emotions are inconvenient and uncomfortable to have, especially when we want to get things done or achieve our own goals. But God guides us through our emotions and he also heals us through them. When we ignore, medicate, or deny them, we are again blocking out God. Another trap here I learned is judging our emotions as wrong (e.g., “I should be happy, not sad...”) which is also saying we’re broken and unacceptable in our current state to God. Emotions come from God; they humble us, make us vulnerable, and lead us. For the Holy Spirit to come, we have to make time and space to let emotions be felt and to direct our thoughts. People around us won’t like it which makes us vulnerable to rejection. Does this sound like anything God might reward? =) Apart from healing and guidance, one of the rewards is the Holy Spirit itself. I believe that the emotional healing of traumas and false belief systems (including “I am not lovable”) are what make room for the Holy Spirit to come in finally and not be constrained and stifled by a constant inner dialog of anti-faith thoughts.
- The Holy Spirit Comes to Reside: Finally! How do you know when this has happened? See below.
Activation, Not “Baptism of the Holy Spirit”
One reader asked me some questions about my Holy Spirit activation:
Just curious how did you know when the HS fell on you? Did you just feel different or was it more significant than that? Have you been able to heal or anything like the Bible talks about? It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
This question made me chuckle at first since my experience was nothing like this common expectation. Later I saw the need to clarify what this is and what it is not. This is not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. As such, for me, there was nothing that “fell” nor “abilities” given like healing. There were not even any tongues or a sensation besides perhaps some emotion. At the time I was heavily reflecting on my past misbehavior and unintentional mistreatment of my family, so I was feeling much sadness and regret.
How do you know when you are there? It’s not so easy to describe, but I will try based on what I have experienced and heard from others. Here are some possibilities:
- Cry easily and feel other strong emotions more.
- Less desire for worldly things, even ones that were very important to you.
- More desire for God and his things and staying connected to him.
- Prayer becomes more natural and fulfilling you pray for hours now.
- Warm or peaceful feeling in your body that is commonly called the presence of God.
- Love and other good thoughts for everyone around you, as opposed to judgments, complaints, and annoyance you felt previously for them.
- Deeper empathy for others and sensitivity towards their feelings
You will notice many changes like these and know that you are different than before in a very good way. You won’t be perfect yet and can easily “quench the spirit” and create results more like you had commonly in the past. Then you add more prayer and time with God to see the better results again such as inspired words and actions coming out of you and divine appointments connecting you with others who God sets up for you to minister to. You will feel more joy (and more of everything else) than before.
Why Seek The Holy Spirit?
I believe you have enough guidance now to ask for and to receive the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13) yourself. But why do this, exactly? It goes without saying every believer would want to do this, right?
The problem is that Christians think they already have the Holy Spirit by default from accepting Christ or from baptism. We don’t seek after something we think we already have. But do all Christians have the Holy Spirit? Jesus said to judge the veracity of similar claims by their fruits (Mt 7:15-20). Let’s just say Christians sadly do not have a reputation for being like Jesus. Instead, they are widely perceived as judgmental, self-righteous, and hypocritical. This makes them just like Jesus’ religious enemies, the Pharisees, and Sadducees and the opposite of Christlike. I’m convinced that very few Christians can even have the Holy Spirit because of how unclean they remain inside.
Do you need the Holy Spirit for salvation? I don’t think so. However, it is my conviction in recent years that you cannot believe and do what is needed to be saved without God’s help. He not only needs to bring the rare truth of salvation into your life, but you need his guidance to make the breakthroughs to actually do it. Again, loving yourself, others, and an “invisible God in the sky” is beyond challenging. To have the Holy Spirit guide you will help you not give up and turn back (Lk 9:62).
Do you need the Holy Spirit to escape the end times? Or how about this, is surviving the end times easier or harder than achieving salvation? Absolutely harder. Salvation is hard but about love, love for all; a noble and appealing concept, as mentioned earlier. End-time survival has a less universal appeal; not everyone wants to outlive the world they loved when it is over. Plus, that survival is likely to cost you everything: giving up your home, your old life, loved ones, wealth, reputation, comfort, etc. You will be facing your worst fears and walking right through them, one after another. You may feel “survivor's guilt” as you watch people around you die while you live. It really does take strength (plus faith) to escape (Lk 21:36), not just faith like salvation requires.
My answer, therefore, is that to succeed in the face of this ultimate test, you almost certainly need the Holy Spirit’s help, inspiration, and comfort. I encourage every reader to take the information in this article to heart and to prayer. Your new Holy-Spirit-led life will be much better immediately whether or not you face the end times later. Good luck!
P.S. If you apply the steps above and are able to experience the same transformation described, please make a comment or email me with your testimony.
Kristine’s Post-Activation Testimony
If you would like to understand this experience awaiting you in even more detail, you can read Kristine’s full testimony from when I interviewed her for this article. I highlighted in bold the parts I consider significant regarding the pattern of activation steps listed above. It may help you have a fuller understanding of how to recognize when you are activated with the Holy Spirit and also some of what else to expect from it.
It all started with my being overcome with emotion. When I got the dream I knew it meant something but seemed straightforward enough. My initial interpretation was that the end time is for sure beginning soon, as what you said concerning 2026. It was that shallow because I didn't want to assume things. I wanted to know for sure if I was really hearing from God or if it was only a figment of my imagination.
So I reached out to you because I didn't know who else to ask about how to tell if God is speaking to you in your dreams or not. It just also happened you were in the dream. And I brushed it aside to be an insignificant part, because I considered you my teacher and I've been your follower and reader for so long that it just makes sense I see you in my dream instead of another teacher. So I thought my mind just automatically drew you to be the one to tell me because I was connected to you and I wasn't connected to anyone else in terms of prophecy teachings.
So then after I told you about the dream, and you said I was hearing from God, I felt so emotional knowing that God answered my prayer for a dream! (I prayed for God to send me a dream with a revelation the previous night and he gave it to me the following night.) This made me realize that while I knew He's always answered me whenever I asked for wisdom and truth, this was different because this was something that actually happened, not just something he led me to see.
(I want to interject here that, for many years now, and I believe this started when I asked for that wisdom about the tribulation and he led me to your site, I stopped praying for anything material or physical in my life. From then on I only prayed for wisdom and truth and for his will to be done. I would say the desires of my heart but his will be done. If I prayed for someone else, I would say this is my desire for them (to be healed, comforted, etc.), but “Father, your will be done.” I don't remember in so many years now ever asking for anything physical or material. The most probably were health and healing, which are still intangibles.)
So then after understanding the dream, I was crying, weeping, sobbing all day every day all week with that realization that God led me to you so I wouldn't miss the end! I didn't understand then why exactly I was crying until later when I realized that I had this fear of being rejected by God but that this dream was confirmation that God loves me absolutely.
Because, in all these years, my desire was not to miss Elijah, for the purpose of saving my children and husband from the tribulation. And the reason why I never stopped following you was I knew that if I didn't want to miss Elijah you were the perfect person to follow because for sure you would be able to discern and recognize him.
I was so blown away by this dream confirmation from God because I had thought of myself as unfaithful because I couldn't stick to following anything absolutely (Church things and Torah things both). I didn't read the Bible everyday. I intended to but couldn't stick to it sometimes. Bursts and distractions. I didn't pray a lot, only when I felt moved to do so. I literally felt like the prodigal son when he hadn't gone home yet. How that simple prayer of seeking salvation from the tribulation from 12 years ago could come to fruition today, by God leading me to someone who would warn me when the end was here.
Anyway, after our first meeting, I started feeling things for people. I would see on social media someone posting quotes or pictures and I could sense if they were feeling sad and in pain or hurting. I didn't understand how I knew. Didn't even question my thoughts. I instinctively just started messaging friends and family just to show them love and care and let them know they were not alone. Suddenly, too, I saw people who used to annoy me in a positive light, and I repented from seeing people negatively and just desired to see only the good in them. I felt very light and peaceful and so in love with everyone. I just wanted to shower all people with God's love. That was the feeling. I used to not care so much about people. Too introverted. So this was very new to me.
And then the following week I began to feel very joyful. I somehow lost my anxieties, my regular bouts of sadness. They just weren't there. I tried digging into myself to see if they were only hiding, but couldn’t find them. It was only joy and peace and love I felt. There was a sense of being cured and healed because I couldn't find all those negative feelings in me.
There was one day after this, however, when my husband and I had a little argument. Normally when we argued I would always try to reason and defend and, because I was so emotional, would often result in raised voices. I get worked up too easily. But that day I felt different. I didn't argue as much, said only a few things, and then stopped myself. Kept still and quiet. We were in the car. Coming home from a long drive. As soon as we got home I just walked to our bedroom and lay in bed and cried out all my hurt. Allowed myself to weep until it was done, composed myself and went back down and sat beside him calmly. First time it happened that way. It wasn't important anymore for him to hear my side and me having to defend it. I just let him vent his side out and accepted it. All the pain and frustration I just felt and cried out because I wanted to bear fruit and keep peace.
It's just all about wanting to do Father's will now. Now that I know what his true will is. It’s about bearing fruit and loving others, not having to keep Sabbath, attend church, etc. Because I felt a little down this particular day, I knew I wasn't completely healed after all. But I recognized what was happening was the beginnings of healing. I realized it wouldn't be an overnight process. But it was significant enough that I would so easily turn away from how I would feel and act in the past.
Also, I didn't want to leave out: the major turning point in my life before all this was, like I told you before, when, after reading your ‘Depart from Me’ articles, I realized finally that God only seeks for us to follow him in love and not worry about everything else. That made such an impact, and I switched gears into learning to love and bear fruit more than anything. And it wasn't perfect, so it didn't really happen the way I would have liked all the time, but there was a conscious effort and a shift in perspective. Yes, only by myself. (But with the help of Katrina's videos, too.)
I also counseled people differently after that. Focusing on self-change and attitude and perspective change instead of trying to change others. I remember crying so much after reading your ‘Depart from Me’ articles because I learned that true salvation is all about love, manifesting in feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, etc. That was an absolute HUGE turning point for me. I was amazed. His laws really are not burdensome after all, and this is why. Realizing that's all He really requires of us, to be loving and kind to others. I was trying so hard to follow church and Torah doctrines and failing miserably all the time.
I helped someone close to me tremendously with this. She was having severe marital issues. I walked her through Father's love and his way of loving and bearing fruit, over months, and she transformed, not perfectly as well, but so miraculously different from how she was before, which ultimately saved her marriage. I’ve been teaching God's way of loving to others as well. Some have difficulty understanding. Progress could be very slow, but I'm letting him lead. I just feel happy being able to spread his love in this way.
Since I experienced that mindshift from Depart from Me.. whenever I would hear friends or family talk or complain about other people, I would try, in the most peaceful, least-offending way, to share the story of God's love to give them a better perspective on how to see people (the way God sees them). I didn't realize until recently that I'd been living this way for some time now. Consciously shifting judgments into understanding. And that there's no one else who needs work but the person having the issues, not the other we are having issues with.
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Tim McHyde
Tim is the author of this site (since 1999) and the book Know the Future that explains Revelation literally at last--including the key event of Wormwood (Rev 6-8). To read more from Tim and not miss a single new article, sign up for his free newsletter above.
27comments
Hey Tim,
So happy to hear of your breakthrough with the Holy Spirit recently!
I just wanted to point out that the Holy Spirit is absolutely proof of salvation in a believer’s life. Every believer who is saved has the Holy Spirit live inside their body.
Jesus made this very clear when He told the disciples he needed to go away so the “Helper” or “Holy Spirit” could come – which the Holy Spirit did in fact come on the day of Pentecost.
That same Holy Spirit then dwelt in every believer in the upper room. The promise from Joel 2 is right now. “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…”
When we believe in Jesus, we become born (in our spirit as we become one with the Holy Spirit) of God) – this is being “born again”. If you truly believed all these years, you’ve had the Holy Spirit all along.
Other “proofs” that someone has the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control.
The most obvious fruits of the Spirit are loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbour as ourselves.
Other fruits of being a true “born-again, Holy Spirit-filled believer” are a transformed life. Proof that you went from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Death to life. Sins we once used to practice should start to flee. Holiness and purity should start to become normal.
A fervent desire to pray, read the word, and fellowship with other believers should follow.
Other fruits include preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, speaking in new tongues.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t a separate event. It’s the moment the Holy Spirit fills your body when you believe. Does it mean everyone automatically starts speaking in tongues? Not necessarily. Paul said to “desire spiritual gifts”. I didn’t get tongues right away. Once I understood they were a gift from God, I prayed for weeks, had people lay on hands and nothing. But I kept seeking God and asking for the gift.
One day, in deep prayer and worship at home, I felt God speak to me saying “Open your gift” referring to tongues. I was confused. How was I supposed to open the gift? I thought God was going to just start speaking through me.
Eventually I stepped out in faith and honestly spoke absolute nonsense for about 2 seconds. All of a sudden, something shifted. It’s like an engine of power roared up inside me. And this heavenly language began pouring out of my mouth. It’s like I turned the ignition on but the true engine began revving a second after I turned the keys.
This gift hasn’t gone away since. Since then, I’ve tested it and asked God about it whether it was truly from Him or not. I tested the spirit, and analyzed the fruit from practicing it. The result has been that the more I pray in the spirit (pray in tongues), the more I desire God, the more I feel His presence, the more I want to read His word, and the more I feel compelled to do His will.
ReplyWow! That’s describes the the excitement after reading your ‘epistles’! Practical christianity if I can describe it that way. Your definition of repentance in your response to Brannon is superb: ” resistance actions to words and doing actions like kindness to others especially when it’s difficult” is very inspiring. Thanks a lot for the good work you and Katrina are doing.
ReplyHi Tim, I have been following you for years and looking at biblical prophesy for more than 50 years. I am 70 now and have come to the realisation that the simple commandments that Jesus gave us covers everything you need. To love the Lord your God. To love your neighbour as yourself. The key word is yourself, how can you love others if you have no love for yourself? God loves us unconditionally. So must we also love others and ourselves in the same way. Yes, it can be a hard path, but as long as the heart is willing, then love will conquer all. The too hard basket is where prayer comes in, and we can be led or drawn down the right path by the still small voice, the Holy Spirit, to listen and trust in the guidance. And offer up the hard things to God, all is well, even in suffering, providing the heart is in the right place.
Take care Tim and love to your wife and family knowing that you are held in the palm of his hand and loved unconditionally.
Hi I wanted to share something that has helped me.
Learn to accept that you might not receive reciprocation for being kind and loving your neighbor or doin unto others.
Give love freely and hope that gesture lights a spark in them future.
ReplyTim, some of the men in the Bible with the Holy Spirit saw healing among the crowds if the people just touched the hem of their garments, handkerchiefs or even their shadows. What’s the difference with that and today?
ReplyTim, that’s a good article. Shouldn’t we refer to the Holy Spirit as Himself and not itself?
ReplySteve, if you’re a Trinitarian, you believe that the Holy Spirit is a person. Binitarians, however, believe that the Holy Spirit is the presence of God — God’s own spirit, yes, but not a separate person. So they say “itself” rather than “himself”, of course.
I hope this helps. ?
Hi Tim!
Even IF this next window of 7 years isn’t the big one I sure get the feeling the next 7-year window almost certainly will be with this covid-19 sham serving as a dress rehearsal for mass population control. What are your thoughts on this sir?
ReplyTim, this article brought my to tears when I read it this morning. Not out of fear, or any anxieties, but because I can relate to so much of what you are saying, and what Kristine has also felt and experienced.
Back in May of this year, over the course of a week or so, I went through a similar transformation. Before this transformation, there was no Holy Spirit in my life. There was no religion. There was no church. None of this was even a thought in my mind. It was never important to me.
I worried about the future, my children, fixing our home, finances, struggles at work… everything. Like most of us probably do. I judged others for just about everything… their “inferior” opinions, poor grammar, going off on a rant for a half hour when someone doesn’t use their turn signal. All of the important stuff (roll eyes).
After this week or two, I came to realize that I had very little control of anything (the perception of control I do have are things that don’t necessarily matter in big picture), and with God on my side, I no longer had to worry. All of things that weighed me down had gone away, and I was actually free. It was all gone. (I’ve heard people say things like this throughout my life, or heard of it in movies, but I never believed it to be a true experience, or to be anything I would ever have happen to me).
I have made amends with everyone I have hurt in my past (and continue to do so), forgiven those who have hurt me (in my heart or have told them outright). I no longer want to complain about my situations, whether significant or not. I don’t curse, and I try incredibly hard not to judge anyone (for any reason). I see family more often, and I’m making a point to contact people regularly to let them know I’m there, and that I care. Just reaching out, I guess you could say.
I could go on and on…. It’s honestly incredible. I wish that everyone could experience this.
Casey, thank you for sharing your beautiful story. I’m happy this blessed you. May God continue to guide your life in His love and may you experience more fruit-bearing every day.
ReplyWhat a great article, Tim! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe I became filled with the Holy Spirit when I got serious about God. I became really humble before God, got really “real” about my sin, and I did cry a lot with that feeling that something just wasn’t right or it was missing despite being a Christian for so many years. I was tired of feeling like a fake Christian after reading Acts. I’d finally read the whole Bible and I prayed for the ability to speak in tongues. I did receive that ability. But it wasn’t right away. And it was all about being really humble before God about what I really wanted in life and who I really was! Things changed for me then drastically. For over a year I became very serious about God. I received many dreams. One that I remember specifically was that I was walking in my neighborhood when I saw airplanes falling from the sky, but at closer look I realized they were angels battling demons and the demons were falling. I then called my husband and told him to take our boys and “Run! Don’t look back! Go to Jerusalem!” And then a black van pulled up in front of me, military men grabbed me and threw me in, and on the many screens inside was all my information in detail, along with the word “CHRISTIAN” above my picture. This was just one dream. All of this totally changed my relationship with God. However, I feel after a year or two, I haven’t lost my fire per se, but something has changed. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know why. I believe it is likely that I am not in consistent contact with other “on fire” believers and it’s somewhat putting out my flame. I’m determined to find a group of believers I can “do life” with that deeply care about spiritual things.
All of this happened after I discovered your site. I’ve always believed your articles are consistent with the Word. Maybe we won’t agree on every little detail but I’ve learned so much from you! Thank you.
PS. I have a computer version of your book, but not a hard copy. Is it possible I buy just the hard copy alone? Thanks! Blessings.
ReplyGreat article! I love that you share your growth with us. We can understand why unbelievers suffer from self-loathing, but why Christians? If we believe Yehovah is our Father, and the father of all, then why do we not feel that love? It is definitely a lack of the Holy Spirit in our lives but why? What is blocking it? Could it be that we do not understand how much Yehovah loves us because the church teaches that God loves the world but will throw most into the lake of fire to burn eternally for a lifetime of sin? If we are always fearing that a misstep will wind us in that fire we can never understand Yehovah’s love for us and then we can never fully love ourselves or others. Jesus, when he returns, will discipline but not torture or annihilate anyone. He truly loves all and will bring all to repentance eventually and on His timetable not ours. This realization has been key in my life to growing closer in my relationship with Yehovah and understanding him. I am in awe of Him but do not fear (not afraid of) Him. I understand fully his plan of salvation for the entire world and probably the entire universe.
ReplyIn the last several months I’ve been piecing together thoughts about masculinity and femininity and how it relates to the “mystery” (as Paul says) of Christ and his bride. Individually we can become sons and daughters of God, but as a group even we men should consider what it means to be a bride. Both children and the traditional role of wife have less power over their environments than parents and the role of husband, and they do well to respect that power when worthy of respect. It’s striking how perfectly masculine Jesus is, competent and secure, whereas my limitations make me feminine in comparison. He does the work for me, work I couldn’t do even if I wanted to, and my role is mostly one of appreciation and allegiance. And yet he has also made us in his image with the ability to create order from chaos, to take dominion over the earth, a more masculine role, and the people of God have done many bold and heroic feats. I think what Jesus wants is a bride who doesn’t usurp power because her sometimes masculine experiences have allowed her to empathize and deepen the connection with him.
With this structure in mind, perhaps you are exploring some of the feminine experiences that will come to dominate the Bride? And perhaps there will also be heroic feats, done by faith and not by our power.
ReplyHello Tim,
It’s very encouraging to read about the Holy Spirit being activated in more people as we approach the end and this article will surely be an important guide for myself and others to help activate the Holy Spirit in our lives as well. I feel like I’m doing well in some areas like humility but I could definitely improve on loving others, especially when it isn’t an easy situation. I first came across your book in 2008 and I’ve been reading your articles ever since, so I’ve learned a lot from you over the years. It’s somewhat surreal to finally be on the cusp of the end times.
As far as the Holy Spirit activation, do you feel like repentance and a continuous effort to resist sin are important or necessary steps as well?
ReplyBrandon, what I described as acting in love is repentance. It includes resisting actions (usually words) and doing actions (usually kindness to others when you don’t feel like it/they deserve it).
ReplyHi Tim! Just curious as to why you respond to so few comments on not only this thread but others..? Surely you have the time to help/assist those of us with things sir?
ReplyDarren, I have been going through serious trials the past months and could not help as freely. I do make sure supporters always get my help. Would you like to become a supporter?
ReplyYes Brandon, repentance is key. But understand, sin in God’s eyes is different from sin in man’s eyes. Sin to God is being unloving. Not loving God and others and yourself (Mt 7:12; Mt 22:37-40), being unkind, not bearing the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), this is what you need to repent of.
ReplyHello Tim, How do we love others without becoming a “doormat”? Obviously Jesus did not always appear to be loving and he offend people on purpose. So where is the line to be drawn? This is a issue I struggle with daily, even with the help of the HS, I am always questioning and checking myself, to the point that I drive myself crazy. Its very confusing to say the least. So how do I know when to stand up or to back down? To use “tough” love or let things slide. I guess the issue is , is that sometimes I feel very “used” in loving others, and there needs to be a balance. How do I get to that point?
ReplyTina, if you have the healthy self-respect/self-esteem implied in the second part of “Love your neighbor as yourself” I don’t think you will let yourself be treated like a doormat in general. If you start with appropriate respect for yourself and act from a motive of love for others, you will find your way and you can count on God’s guidance to do so.
ReplyTina, part of loving yourself as others is learning about healthy boundaries, and the ultimate worth Yehovah declares over you. He declared his love by sending his son to die for you. If you are worth dying for, it’s because you are loved by him. And scripture goes on to say that we are loved, grafted into his family (adoption), and therefore SONS (heirs!) to him. Yes, even women.
Humility is necessary to accept this as truth, and not put our opinions of our worth over the opinion of the Most High God. After all, nothing is hidden from him. Lean hard into reverence for his authority and judgment t on the matter, in submission and humility. This is not a thing you can do in your own will and understanding, so ask him to help you with this. The change comes from him. You will begin to feel in your spirit the boundary lines of your personhood, and over time, learn to establish and enforce them. You can love people without being a doormat. If others are treating you that way, it is because they also do not have understanding of love, and so no respect for personal boundaries.
You are a person same as everyone else, and are not loved any less by Father.
And as a father, it gives him joy to teach us and grow us up in the spirit to be able to walk beside him. <3
Hi Tim,
It seems that whenever bad stuff happens across the world, and the foaming and frothing media promote it 24/7, you always come up with an antidote. Whether you see it this way or not, your new posts and the collection of old posts, bring hope, love … and life, to a dying world. Thank you.
ReplyThis was so encouraging, such precious water to a thirsty soul I am so excited for and look forward to Holy Spirit activation in my life , thank you for pouring out of yourself to bless others
ReplyKelly, your comment is also encouraging. Happy this article blessed you. I’m excited for you. God bless you.
ReplyThank you so much, Tim. This article is just what I needed at this time. You described my problem exactly–not loving myself and thus believing that the Lord would reject me no matter what. Though I have received the HS many years ago and have been amazed many a time by his guidance, I have never really developed that love of myself or others that I need for his constant companionship. I never knew until I read this article just what was the obstacle. For the past several years I’ve struggled greatly with unfathomable illness, inc., comas and blood transfusions and much more but I continued to feel that there was something I was supposed to be learning and have been frustrated that I just wasn’t doing it thus adding to my dislike of myself and believing the Lord felt the same way. Earlier this year I was blessed by the laying on it hands when I was in a coma and the Lord blessed me that I would/should live because I still have work to do. I am still very ill with an incurable syndrome but I’be been making it one day at a time waiting to know what is I am to do. Well, Tim, you’ve answered that question for me. Thank you so much and PRAISE GOD!
ReplyDiane, I’m happy this article blessed you. I’m also being blessed by your testimony. God loves you as you are. See yourself as he sees you because he sees YOU. He does. Be assured that you can have absolute security in His love.
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