“Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days— You would not believe if you were told.” Habakuk 1:5 NAS
Scripture speaks often of the “End Times.” Old Testament prophets and even Jesus laid out what to look for as signs of His coming. Wars and rumors of wars. False prophets rising from everywhere, claiming, “I am the Christ, Follow me!” Earthquakes. Famines… And, the most prevalent characteristic of the end times: loveless hearts that have grown icy cold from fear.
In the 70’s Bible teachers assured us that the nations of Europe would join and become one. I inwardly scoffed, thinking, ‘Ridiculous. The Frenchman will never give up his franc, nor the German his mark.” When the Berlin Wall was torn down by hands of those who thirsted for freedom, I watched as East and West Germany became Germany. Soon, Europe became the European Union. It was as if Someone had simply thrown on a switch, and the world, as we knew it, experienced a Global Shift. New missionaries, some of whom were our friends, packed up their lives and families to move into these new frontiers. The former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Former Soviet Satellite countries such as Latvia and Lithuania. These were countries I had only known as a child watching brightly dressed dancers at Pittsburgh cultural festivals. Now, doors were flung open, and people were rushing to establish a beachhead for the Kingdom.
Other parts of the world opened, as well. The dawn of the internet age drew the whole world even closer together, with chat rooms emerging all around the WWW where people could meet and get to know Christians from the west. One of our friends is fluent in Arabic and spends many hours online mentoring students. He says one of the most open countries is Iran!
Daniel 12:4 says: “In those last days, many will travel here and there, and knowledge will greatly increase.” Surely these are the days the prophet spoke of? One has only to sit in an international airport to see the nations intermingling, side by side, Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Buddhists. Sprinkled in among them all….us. Salt. Light. Bearers of His Grace and Truth.
There is yet another great Global Shift happening. The nations are rumbling in discontent. We hold the Message that will save them and bring them peace. Will we rise to this Global Shift?
~ Debbie Ecker
