7-30-20 Conditional or Definitive Warnings
Conditional or Definitive Warning? :: By Gary Ritter
Here’s the question of the hour: Are the prophetic dreams and visions we’ve been hearing about lately 1) conditional notices from God, 2) definitive warnings, or 3) the result of indigestion? Although there are likely many who are in the third camp for these possibilities, I’m going to stick with the first two in this discussion.
For those of us who are Watchmen on the Wall (per Ezekiel 3:17), we’ve been seeing the incredible buildup of prophetic signs these last several years that have accelerated in 2020 at an astounding pace. Many of us have been warning for quite a while that, yes, these signs do signal the nearing return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve seen and called out what is termed the Convergence. This has brought into view literally every possible indicator of these final of the Last Days. The markers include, but are by no means limited by, false Christs, false prophets, wars, rumors, famines, earthquakes, pestilence, plague, apostasy, love grown cold, mocking, depravity, and on we go. It’s enough to take your breath away.
The latest fuel added to the fire is the series of prophetic dreams by Pastor Dana Coverstone, who never imagined his videos purposed for followers of his church would have a global reach. But they have, and they’ve touched a nerve.
For those who’ve taken the dreams seriously, there seem to generally be two somewhat divergent streams of thought. There are those who believe they’re conditional, and those who consider them decisive warnings.
The conditional group believe that, although serious, the dreams portend the disastrous prophesied ending only occurs if the church doesn’t pray. They cling to 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
This has great validity. God, throughout the ages, has given His people chance after chance when they finally stopped becoming no different than the world and then turned to Him in prayerful repentance.
The final warning folks take a different approach. I outlined some of this in a prior essay titled A Jeremiah Nation:https://www.raptureready.com/2020/07/23/a-jeremiah-nation-by-gary-ritter/.
The bottom line in that piece was that a time came upon Israel in which God finally said, “Enough!” I proposed that America may indeed have reached that nadir, i.e., the status in which God declares that no prayers will stay His hand.
I end up with mixed feelings between these two extremes, assuming they’re correct and God doesn’t surprise us with something completely different. I’m not sure what that would mean, since Scripture clearly points to the disturbing end of America through our seeming lack of presence in end-times events.
What do I mean by mixed feelings? I love this country and hate how it’s being undermined and destroyed from within. I’d like to see the church rise up and be what it’s supposed to be, i.e., a light in the darkness. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we did that and many people turned to Jesus as Lord and Savior?
But, although I’m doing pretty well in this regard, I know that many people are weary. They’ve watched and longed for Christ’s imminent return and have begun to wonder whether that imminency is real. They want to go home to the Lord. They’re tired of being part of this world that has so many other intentions than following Jesus. Is praying for Him to stay His hand of wrath on our nation as high on the list as it may have been in times past? Do they really want to keep their eyes on this sin-drenched world any longer, rather than see Jesus face-to-face?
To look at Pastor Dana’s prophecies as ones that are decreed, i.e., there is no reprieve, has an attraction. Their fulfillment surely heralds the final last gasp of the Church Age. If that’s so, then Jesus really, truly could be coming for us in the clouds very, very soon. Of course, the downside to these dreams means potential persecution for the church in America, if put into a logical timeline like I tried to do in another essay titled: Prophetic Dreams – How Can This Be?https://www.raptureready.com/2020/07/19/prophetic-dreams-how-can-this-be-by-gary-ritter/.
In other words, things could get quite ugly for believers who stand boldly for Christ before He snatches us away.
Under the assumption that God has truly spoken to Pastor Dana—which we’ll learn before the year ends—it’s the nature of the words given to him that make me believe there is no turning back. Here are the specific words that he reported:
“Brace yourself.”
“Endure to the end.”
“Something big is coming.”
Subsequently, in another dream, the message for the church was for us to strengthen ourselves in the Lord, to be unified, and to be the light that will bring others to Christ.
All these don’t sound to me like conditional statements. They sound conclusive, as though God has made up His mind and the prophesied events are coming. These words sound to me like a serious wake-up call, and that we had better be ready. A major whammy is coming in which the church will be smack in the middle.
In either case, whether God will turn at this time from that which was shown to Pastor Dana, or not, the bottom line must be for the church to get serious in its faith. I’ve said this many times: While we wait for the Lord, we are to occupy, performing the plans and purposes God has set for each us. That will give us joy and peace, even in these turbulent times. When we’re obedient to God, He blesses us and sees us through whatever may come our way.
We can never stand, now or later, if we’re not wholly devoted to the Word of God and prayer. These two activities will root us; they will help us fulfill the threefold message of strengthen, unify, and be a light, and prepare us for the worst whenever it happens.
Which it certainly will at some point, just as Scripture foretells.
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Gary W. Ritter is a lay pastor, Bible teacher, and serves as Missions Director at his church. He is also a prolific author. His Whirlwind Series is comprised of three books: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind, and There Is A Time. These books are contained in the collected volume of the Whirlwind Omnibus. Gary has been given the Christian Redemptive Fictionaward for two novels: The Tattooed Cat and Alien Revelation. He has recently released a new novel on eco-terrorism called Green Dreams, and Looking Up – Volume 3, a non-fiction work that contains essays and devotions on end-times and prophetic events. Gary’s intent in all his writings is to bring a strong Christian witness to what people read. You can reach him at his website: www.GaryRitter.com or his Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/gritter3390. You can also see his video Bible teachings on his Gary Ritter YouTube channel – look for the fish symbol.
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