Steve Scroggs, Hendersonville, NC
The Elijah List
The Signs and Wonders in Our Midst
Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. Isaiah 8:18 KJV
"Signs, signs, everywhere are signs. Can you see the signs?"
Is what John Harris, a man of God greeted me with as we were sitting down for coffee. Then he said, "I have also seen this country go into great revival... There were coliseums full of people. I could hear the testimonies of the people, as they were touched by the Holy Spirit." The Father is speaking through a cloud.
The mystery of God's voice demands attention when a sign escorts the revelation. The Scripture is clear in Amos 3:6-8: "If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?"
This statement begs an answer to at least four questions. One, is God speaking? Two, what is God saying? Three, is there a sign escorting the message? And if so, four, what is the choice for action?
Is God speaking? Expression is a part of His eternal nature. Before the fall, Adam talked with God in the cool of the day. Enoch walked with God, communed with him, and one day walked right into Heaven. Jesus lived in continual communion with the Father and prayed for you to have the same relationship (John 17:20-22). Can you imagine Jesus praying a prayer that will not be answered?
Before He left the earth, Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit who would comfort you, who would teach you, who would tell you things to come, and who would take from the Father and from the Son and give it to you. The Lord speaks through three expressions of His Word.
One, through the Graphe' (a Greek word meaning to grave especially to write - the holy writ,) the Holy Bible (Matthew 4:7), two, through the Logos (a Greek word meaning the spoken, expressed Word) who is Jesus, the living Word (John 1:1-3,14), and three, through the Rhema (Greek word meaning an utterance – in the moment) the present tense voice of God (Matthew 4:4). Everyone on earth hears God's voice, but His sheep hear and heed. What kind of a Father would God be, if He didn't want to talk to His kids?
Two Signs: Bob Jones and Arthur Burt
For some time now, I've heard the prophetic ministry declaring that an end-time awakening is breaking forth in the earth, and this last great revival will bring over one billion youth into the Kingdom of God. The Body of Christ in this awakening will reveal the glory of God through preaching, prophesying, demonstrating authentic signs, amazing wonders, marvelous healings, and creative miracles like the multiplying of food to feed the thousands, translation in the Spirit from one country to another, and physical body parts coming down from the warehouses in Heaven.
(Photo Wikipedia)
At the center of this enormous move is a nucleus of men and women who live for the revelation of the Father. This is the word I have heard. An old sage (Great Grandfather) and prophet (Grandfather) in the faith both spoke words, and their life and death are a sign. The time is now.
Is there a sign escorting the message?
Two signs have escorted God's message. The first sign is Bob Jones, who prophesied the coming of the last great awakening that would sweep over one billion youth into the Kingdom. In 1975, when he stood before the Lord in death, the Lord held up his hand and said he had arrived before his time. God asked him to return. When Bob agreed, the Lord said, I don't want you to go back for one soul. I am going to bring over one billion youth to Myself. I want you to go back to speak into the leadership of that move. When he died on February 14, 2014, it was a sign that his job was done. Prophets are always reading signs. God is working His plan.
The second sign is Arthur Burt, a great grandfather in the family of God, who entered Heaven August 28, 2014. He was born in 1912 and in his youth traveled with Smith Wigglesworth, a plumber turned Evangelist who walked with God, manifested amazing signs, wonders, healing miracles, and power demonstrations that reaped an enormous harvest of souls into the Kingdom. Although Arthur did not like talking about his days with Wigglesworth, at breakfast one morning he said to me, "When it comes to Smith, all that the books have written about him pale in comparison to the glory that was released in his meetings."
Although Bob and Arthur are with the King of kings, the story of how they are signs demands our attention.
In 1999 the Lord said to me, "I want you to cultivate a family relationship with Bob and Viola."I didn't know how to do this, so I talked with a friend, whom Bob called his Jewish chauffeur at the time, and he arranged for a weekly visit on Wednesdays. For about a five-year season, I began visiting Bob and Viola in their home. During each visit we would sit and talk, sharing life and family stories, but at some point I would ask a question, "What were your visions about today?"
Usually each vision would be accompanied with stories from his life and revelation from the Word. We listened. (Photo of Bob Jones and Steve Scroggs)
One day Bob told this story: "In my visions the angel of the Lord visited me and said, 'In the year you were born, I gave a word to a group of people and now there is one man remaining. I want you to encourage him today. Tell him he will see this word come to pass before he dies. He is old and this word is not yet fulfilled. Tell him he will see it.'"
And then Bob turned to me and said about the angel who told him this, "And then he left, and he didn't tell me the man's name or what the word was that he gave him." (The angel was referring to Arthur Burt.)
That same evening Kathie Walters, who had just returned from ministering in Wales, called Bob and asked if he had a word for Wales. Bob said, "No, but I have a word for an old man in Wales, and you were just in his house." She said, "That must be Arthur Burt... What is the word?"
Bob replied, "Tell him, he will see it." Kathie responded, "He will see it?" Bob said, "Tell him he will see it. I don't know the word God gave him. He received it years ago. It was given to a group of people and they are all dead now except for him. But tell him he will see it."
When God speaks there will be signs in the heavens, and signs in the earth with some living among us.
A few months after Bob told me this story, I read Kathie Walter's account of her conversation with Arthur. When Arthur picked up the phone she said: "Arthur, this is Kathie Walters. Did you receive a word from God years ago among a group of people and you are waiting to see it?"
Arthur said, "Yes, we did receive a word."
She responded "Good, what was the word?"
Arthur replied, "They are all dead now, the people in that group. I am the only one left."
"Yes, I know Arthur; what was the word?"
Arthur responded, "I can hear it now like it was then. I keep it in my pocket you know."
"Arthur, what was the word?" I practically yelled at him then.
This was the word he read to me over the phone:
"IT SHALL COME AS A BREATH,
AND THE BREATH SHALL BRING THE WIND,
AND THE WIND SHALL BRING THE RAIN,
AND THERE SHALL BE FLOODS AND FLOODS AND FLOODS,
AND TORRENTS AND TORRENTS AND TORRENTS.
SOULS SHALL BE SAVED LIKE FALLING LEAVES FROM MIGHTY OAKS SWEPT BY A HURRICANE.
ARMS AND LEGS WILL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN…
AND THERE SHALL BE NO EBB." (Photo Arthur Burt via Steve Scroggs)
The Breath is Blowing... What Is Your Action?
How is Arthur Burt a sign that escorted the word?
First, God spoke to a group of people and he was the last one carrying that word. Second, when the prophet Bob Jones through the Holy Spirit said, "He would see it" before he died, it made him a sign. Like Simeon, he was given a word from the Holy Spirit that he would see this awakening.
Therefore, the breath is blowing. The winds are here. The rain is falling. The floods are swelling. The torrents are on their way. If you are waiting for a sign to tell you what God is doing, join Him now because the revival is here.
The final question, what is your choice for action?
The first choice is to acknowledge the sign and receive the word with faith. The second choice is to pray and ask, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" You will speak hope as you open your mouth. God will fill it. The third choice is step out, bring forth the destiny you are called to, and fulfill the dreams you have had as secrets in your heart. The fourth choice may be to look where God is moving and join Him.
"Signs, signs, everywhere there are signs. Can you see the signs?" Will you mix the word with faith and act? God has now stepped onto the world scene in the form of His sons and daughters, and is releasing an unforgettable display of His love, glory and power.
A revivalist from the early 20th century, John G. Lake, gave this prophecy before he died:
"Now beloved, I can see as my spirit discerns the future and reaches out to touch the heart of mankind and the desire of God that there is coming from Heaven a new manifestation of the Holy Ghost in power and that new manifestation will be in sweetness, in love, in tenderness, in the power of the Spirit, beyond anything your heart or mine ever saw. The very lightning of God will flash through men's souls. The sons of God will meet the sons of darkness and prevail. Jesus Christ will destroy antichrist." (This was spoken by John G. Lake in a sermon on February 23, 1921)
The events of the earth are lining up. Future events are walking off of the pages of Scripture and into the life and times of planet earth, and the Sons and Daughters of God are being revealed. Through the Scriptures, the awakenings and the judgments of God have appeared on parallel tracks. There is something about the displays of God's power and majesty that humbles the heart of man and makes him ready to receive eternal life.
(Photo via pixabay)
This harvest will bring in a harvest of souls so great and so numerous that they will appear as falling leaves from the mighty oaks driven in a hurricane.
The sons and daughters of God will walk in the faith that will create arms, legs and a multitude of body parts.
What would be the response from one who receives a call from a last day ministry that sounds like, "Hello, this is John Doe down at the church. Are you Sam Smith? Do you need a leg? We have one down here with your name on it, come and get it."
It has begun. You can be a part of this awakening, just let your heart reach out and touch your friends and relatives. Begin with the people you know and expand from there.
Steve Scroggs
The I AM Network
Rev Steve Scroggs is a man who believes life's greatest achievement is to be a friend of God. He loves family, enjoys people, and encourages God's kids all over the world to walk in their eternal destiny. He and his wife have ministered for over thirty years in the US and in 15 different countries. His passion is to reveal the love of the Father, the compassion of the Son, and the creative power of Holy Spirit.
Signs and wonders with healing miracles usually accompany his preaching. Now he speaks, writes, and oversees a networking ministry called The I Am Network, preparing the sons of God in the awakening.
We've been a part of the turning taking place in this nation. Change for good is emerging. While persecution remains a reality -- the spiritual climate has begun responding to the fervent prayers of the righteous.
young people and orphans. Since touting orphanages can be an overused fund-raising technique, I take care when I hear of orphanage activities. In this case, we know the founding couple well and have played a part in their plans becoming a reality. They had already been raising six orphans in their home, besides their own two children, as well as giving scholarships enabling 18 teens from the poor region of this brother's hometown to attend secondary school.
dimensions in God. The stewardship of something as significant as God's economy, through the imperfect vessels of God's people, can at times seem daunting. Yet, as I ponder the developments noted above, two things are clear. Our efforts are taking root. With that, we're also at a threshold in the turning underway.
