It is not my intention to write an article that is defeatist or filled with doom and gloom, even though this is definitely going to deal with a very dark subject. On the contrary, it is because my heart cry has long been for revival, particularly in the Pacific Northwest where I spent most of my past twenty years, that this article has birthed in my heart.

What is a very clear principle in the scriptures, and what Messiah defines with utter clarity in Luke 19:41-44, is that individuals, families, churches, cities, states, even whole nations are given “Days of Visitation” and if these are missed, judgment inevitably follows.

Luke 19 gives us probably the most well known example of this. Here, Yahshua is weeping over Jerusalem, lamenting that the people of Israel fail to recognize Him as their Messiah. He then predicts that the entire city will be torn down, the temple destroyed and the nation scattered because they missed the day of their visitation.

We know from history, that many decades later, in the years 67-70 AD, the hammer of judgment fell because of this missed day of visitation, and all the events Messiah prophesied about came to pass.

These scriptural examples are not all negative. Indeed, we have a rousing Day of Visitation presented to the City of Ninevah when Jonah warns them that they will be destroyed by Yahweh in 40 days. The people recognize their day of visitation, repent and humble themselves. Because of this, the 40 day promise of judgment does not come. A spiritual revival consumes the people and the only heart ache is the prophet Jonah who feels somehow cheated.
Unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the rule. Most Days of Visitation are missed in scripture, and when that happens, judgment almost always falls, though seldom immediately.

I know this continues to happen up to the present day and will continue until the day Messiah returns to set this world right once more.

I remember reading the biography of the late singer Keith Green. Back in the early 80’s, Keith witnessed the beginnings of a genuine revival about to break out at Oral Roberts University, one of the most famous Christian based universities in the USA. The Spirit of Yah swept so strongly through that place, that students began standing up, confessing their sins and crying out for repentance. However, when the son of the President of the University, stood up and began to confess his secret homosexuality and need for deliverance, the university leaders swiftly brought the meetings to an end and said no more public confessions were allowed. Keith recounts how the Spirit was grieved away almost immediately and the revival died. Oral Roberts University had missed its Day of Visitation, and judgment surely will hit that place eventually.

I’ve seen this happen as well. Toward the end of my nearly 20 years in Oregon, I found a Messianic congregation in Salem, Oregon named Cornerstone Baptist. They seemed filled with the Spirit, walked in the Torah, and the place felt ideal for the outbreak of revival. Indeed, I had arrived at this place only a few weeks after another couple had also arrived, who were also praying and longing for revival.

Within a couple of weeks, a spirit of revival began to sweep over the place. During the Thursday evening prayer meetings, the pastor, tears in his eyes, began crying out for revival. He started preaching on I John 3:6-11, fiery messages against sin. People began breaking up their fallow ground and confessing a need to return to their First Love.

This started happening right around the Fall Feasts of 2017. The Yom Kippur service, which happened to fall on the weekly shabbat, was a powerful move of the Spirit. I remember vividly the pastor calling me after one of these meetings, noting that a revival seemed to be breaking out at the congregation.

However, sadly, Cornerstone would go on to miss its Day of Visitation. For reasons I don’t wish to get into, the pastor wound up making a series of decisions that not only drove me away, but eventually also the other couple who had been brought to the congregation. The Spirit of Revival soon died, the pastor’s sermons became lukewarm and lackluster, and the burning intensity that had consumed the people vanished like smoke blown in the wind.

Only a month or so later, Yah would lead me to leave the Oregon area permanently and to relocate far north in Alaska.

It has been my observation that the USA, as a whole, has missed its Day of Visitation. I think Yah has wanted revival to consume the nation. But I think most churches and congregations, both Christian and Messianic, prefer the slumber of Laodicean lukewarmness. I am sure there are still fiery believers scattered through the nation, and perhaps even a pastor here or there, but they must be rare indeed. I think it is more likely that the genuine pastors, prophets, apostles and evangelists who would carry within their bosoms the fire that would light a revival, have been thrown out of their churches, banished from the religious and taken into the hidden shadows and corners of the country.

I think because the USA has missed its Day of Visitation, judgment must now come. I know Yah gives a time of grace, a gap of time between this missed day and the time of judgment. But I think, for this nation, that judgment is not much far removed. Indeed, I think it’s probably at the door.