The River Is Rising — David Wilkerson

This recording is provided by Times Square Church in New York City. You're welcome to make additional copies for free distribution to friends. All other unauthorized duplication or electronic transmission is a violation of copyright and other applicable laws.

This recording cannot be posted on any website. However, written permission to link to the Times Square Church homepage may be requested by emailing info at timessquarechurch .org. Other recordings are available by calling 1 -800 -488 -0854 or by writing to Times Square Church Tape Ministry, 1657 Broadway, New York, New York, 10019.

The River Rising from Ezekiel’s Temple

Let's get right to the word, Ezekiel, the 47th chapter. 47th chapter of Ezekiel, the river is rising, is the name of my message, the title of my message today. The 47th chapter of Ezekiel, and I want you to just leave it open on your lap.

And I'm going to be preaching the first 12 verses from 1 to 12, Ezekiel 47, the river is rising. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this service this morning. Thank you for your presence in this house.

Holy Spirit, in this place, we depend on you. We can't depend on our own strength, our own abilities. We come to you, Holy Spirit, because we know of no other place to go for strength, because you bring Christ and reality to our hearts.

You reveal Christ and his fullness to us. Will you now speak by your word, Lord, come upon me and deliver your heart and your message to this people for this day, this morning. We thank you for your blessing.

We thank you for your presence in Christ's name. Amen. In the 12th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet is given a vision. He sees a river flowing up from the throne past the altar and a little stream at first.

And it begins to come out the outer gate and into out through the east gate. The east gate was closed. So he had to go out through another gate. And a man met him, a man whose name is not given in this account.

The man says, follow me. And he has a measuring line in his hand. And he gets to the eastern gate and water, a river, rivulet is coming out from under the gate. And as it goes, it's increasing. It's getting deeper and wider and swifter.

And it stretches now all the way out as far as he can see. And the man says, follow me. And he leads him in the middle of the stream. And he gets a thousand cubits, which I think they say is about a third of a mile.

And the water was up to the ankles. Nobody is explaining anything to him. He's just told, follow me. And he goes a thousand cubits and the water is up to his ankles. And the man evidently Moses to him, follow.

And he goes another thousand cubits, another third mile. And the water is up to his knee. The river is flowing faster, increasing and deepening, widening. And he is told to follow further. And he goes another thousand cubits and it's up to his loins.

And there's no explanation. And then he goes another thousand cubits. And now it's up to his neck. And there's no explanation. In fact, Ezekiel never does explain this vision. He never gives the meaning of it.

And now he's up to his neck. And ahead of him is a sea, the Dead Sea. And this is going to empty into the Dead Sea. And at this point, the man with the measuring rod, measuring line, asked him to come out of the water.

And he's at the bank of the water. And the man says to him, what do you see? In other words, what do you understand of what is seeing? And he was told to look back. And he looked back. Now, this is coming through a dry land.

And he looks back. And on both sides, both banks of this river, there are trees that have sprung up, fruit, green grasses everywhere. And it was a fertile scene. He was flabbergasted. He said, behold, I see trees on both banks.

And that's all he was told. Do you understand? Now, there was no way he could understand because this vision was not about his generation. In fact, Peter said that the prophets of old, they searched and searched to find out what these things meant.

The spirit of Christ, Peter said, was in them for telling about the suffering and the grace of Christ to come. But the spirit caused them to know that what they were seeing was not for them. But Peter said for us.

Pentecost and the Ever-Increasing River of the Spirit

Now, this river that we read about here in the 47th chapter of Ezekiel, many interpretations have been given by Bible scholars. I've been I looked at some of this past week and there's no proof of any one of these.

There's not much biblical proof for any of these concepts of this river that I could find. Some say it's for the millennial age. There's going to be a thousand year reign of Christ. And that's when God's going to open the eyes of the Jews.

And that river is going to be a river of gospel going out to various nations. And they will come to Jerusalem. And the river is going to flow with gospel through converted Israel. And others say that this has to do with the time, the kingdom age that's coming after Armageddon.

And they put it off in the future. Now, I don't see that. And there there are some of the great old time Puritan pastors have seen what I've seen. I am nobody. I'm not asking. I'm not suggesting that I have some great new revelation.

It's it's an old revelation. And I believe with all my heart that what the prophet is seeing is the time from Pentecost to this very day when God poured out his spirit. Because the Bible said the river that's springing up within you is the Holy Spirit.

He said the well that's in you and the water is the water of the Holy Spirit that quickens everything that it touches. And that's what the Holy Spirit was trying to show. Now, he couldn't know because the prophets didn't understand.

They just gave these words, believing and rejoicing that the day would come that you and I would understand it. We would see it and bring life to us. I want you to try to understand with me. And I believe this is all my heart.

I see it in Isaiah. I see it in Ezekiel. You see it in all the prophets that when God says I'm going to pour out my spirit upon all flesh. He doesn't end it before Armageddon. He doesn't end it because of the gross darkness that covers the earth.

In fact, the river increases ever increasing flow. He said this water is going to to keep flowing. I could I'm going to prove this hopefully before this is all over. The last days began, I believe, in the upper room because Peter said when the spirit came down, this is that which the prophets all said would come and it's come.

This is the beginning of the last days. And we are now at the last of the last days. And if that river keeps increasing every thousand cubits or you can I don't care how you figure that as time or whatever it is.

But you see, he's looking back now and he sees the results of the gospel has been preached from Pentecost to this very to this time. He's seeing our time and he looks at all of the wonderful things that God has done.

He's seen that nothing could stop that river. Ten Roman emperors tried to stop that river from flowing. Those emperors persecuted and stoned and boiled in oil Christians. They cut them asunder, according to Hebrews 11 chapter.

They persecuted them, chased them out of homes and nations and they hid in caves. And many of them were hungry and thirsty. And they tried to kill. Atheists have tried to kill this river and stop it from flowing.

The communists tried to stop it from flowing. They tried it in China and that river still flowing and it's wider and deeper than it's ever been. Now, Russia tried to stop it. Closing churches, all evangelical churches were closed.

Bibles were banned. And what happened? The river kept flowing. And now the river is wide open in Russia. You can preach the gospel in schools. You can preach it in the armed forces. You can preach it anywhere because nothing can stop the river once God pours out His Spirit.

The Gospel’s Advance Despite Political and Religious Opposition

And now the Islamists say they have the power. They claim that they're going to do what no other earthly power has done in the history of mankind. They're going to stop this river because when that river hits an Islamic country, they turn to Jesus in numbers.

So what do they do? What is their plan? Their plan is to nuke Israel. They won't get to the source of the river. That's where the river started, in the upper room. And that's where it spread all over the world by Paul the Apostle and all the apostles and all the Christians that were scattered abroad.

And now they say we're going to stop it. And their plan is to build nuclear weapons in Iran. And when they get them, they will try, if they could. Now, that's all in God's hand, and I don't believe God's ever going to allow it.

But their plan is that they were going to have a limited nuclear strike over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. And now in Iran or in North Korea, why do you think the devil is planning nuclear activity in North?

Because South Korea is sending out missionaries all over Islamic Far East. Korean missionaries. Where are the largest evangelical churches in the world? In Korea. You could see the plan unfold. And to cripple the American economy, cutting off oil and all of these things that they believe that they can do once they get the power, they have the oil.

And so America, they hope, would be powerless to interfere and to defend democratic nations that allow religious freedom. Because wherever there is religious freedom and there are Islamics there, the Holy Ghost stops the work of the enemy.

The Holy Ghost will not allow it. And that is only part of the plan that's unfolding. But my God says that when he decides it's time, he laughs at the foolishness of men. And God said, they won't even be planted.

He said, I'll blow them away. Those are the very words of the gospel, the very words of God. Now, Ezekiel has looked back and he's seen all of the glorious results of the gospel of Christ in this river.

The work of the Holy Spirit down the ages. The multitudes have been saved in the churches that have sprung up and all the glories and the victories of the cross. And now he's turned to look. There are other directions told to look forward, in other words.

The River Enters the Spiritual Desert

And he sees that river moving into the desert first. Now, I want you to follow me on this. He's being shown what the church is going to be like in the last days. He's showing us what lies ahead for the church of Jesus Christ, because the spirit of Christ was speaking in him and through him.

And in verse eight, then said he unto me, the waters issue out toward these country and they go down into the desert. Now, let me stop right there. What is the desert? That's the present spiritual condition in religion today.

That's the desert, the dryness, the deadness. Now, folks, in the past few months, I've had a few Sundays where I could go and visit churches. And so I've gone to these churches and with an open heart, no judgment, no, no animosity, just hungry, thirsty.

Lord, I can't get to Times Square Church this week, but I want to I want to be fed. I just I just want to go and worship and I go. I've been to four churches in the past six months. And, folks, I look around and such death, such dryness.

There's no moving of the Holy Spirit. There's nothing of repentance. It's a 20 minute little sermon on how to cope with problems on the job. That's fine. And these are moral instructions. But there's nothing about sin, about repentance, about about suffering or pain.

None of these things. And I see people, you know, 1130. They're looking at their watches, trying to to last till noon. And you sit there and you you you feel the death and you hear people. Folks, there's never been a time when people are more dry and more hungry and thirsty than they are now.

Young People’s Hunger for Reality and Truth

Especially young people. They are thirsty. We have a whole generation that have been bombed out and bummed out on what you call it on drugs and and meth. And their their ears are ringing with iPods. And I'm not putting it down, but they've got this some that move that pounding music constantly.

And sitting watching games that blowing up people, limbs flowing all over. But I haven't seen it. I've heard about it. Folks, that that creates an emptiness that creates a hunger because they get tired of it.

They get bored of it. And now we have a whole generation wanting reality, wanting truth, want to be moved by the spirit of the living God. And I'm going to tell you this. Jesus said he's not coming back for a crippled church.

He's not coming back for a devastated, weak church. He's not coming back for a church that is allowing the enemy to roll over their young people and destroy a whole generation. I can't believe God's going to let the most populated, most educated generation in all of history.

Allow them to go to hell without a moving of the Holy Spirit, without a river coming to change and bring life. I can't accept that. God said he's coming back for an overcoming church, a victorious church.

And, folks, in the days ahead, things are going to change. I believe with all of my heart when God said, I'm pouring out my spirit upon all flesh, your sons and daughters are going to prophesy. I believe that you can't show me one place in the scripture where that stopped.

It didn't stop just because the enemy comes in like a flood. Revelation, the 12th chapter, said the earth helped the woman, which is the church, and swallowed up the flood. And that's what God's going to do.

He's going to swallow up the flood by awakening of pastors. I believe that the greatest awakening the church has ever seen is yet to come. I believe this with all of my heart, that God supernaturally, just by the breathing of his own spirit, because of his own glory, his own name, just because he's not going to let the devil have the final say.

The devil is on a last-ditch stand. He knows his time is short. But the Holy Ghost says, no, this far and no further, you can't have my church, you can't have my generation. I'm going to pour out my spirit.

And there will be men that fall on their face and run to the secret closet again. God is going to revive a spirit of prayer in the house of God, starting in the pulpit. God can do that supernaturally.

All through the Old Testament, he stirred up siren, he stirred up this, he stirred up this one and this one. That's the work of the Holy Spirit, stirring people. And God, by his spirit, is going to awaken all the dormant gifts of the spirit that have been lying dead in the church of Jesus Christ because of unbelief.

There's been a drawing back from prayer, but God is changing all of that, folks. There's a cry rising up in the church. No more borrowed preaching, no more borrowed sermons. They're going to come to the house of God.

And I know to be a fact right now that there are people who writing me said that in love they got together prayer groups and they've gone to their pastors. And in love and in tears, it said, please, please give us something from the throne.

Give us something from heaven. Tell us what's happening. We're hungry. We're thirsty. There's been a dryness, a terrible dryness. And God, not just in answer to prayer. We've for years. We've we've quoted those scriptures.

My people call bow on their knees, confess their sins and call the Lord. I'll hear from heaven. Meet their need. But, folks, the prayers have not gone up. So I believe the Holy Spirit is going to take it in his own hand and he's going to do it in this in two ways.

Pastors, Prayer, and the Restoration of Spiritual Gifts

I believe he's got it. First of all, pastors who know anything of their Bibles and look at the events that are happening and falling. They're going to see the handwriting on the wall. Many, many people, you're far from they're going to see the handwriting and they're going to know it.

Folks, there are things that are coming in the near future that are going to be so incredibly fearful, so overwhelming to the whole world. They're going to say on the news reports everywhere. This is supernatural.

This is the hand of God. This is the handwriting on the wall. They're already saying that. Secular journalists in their writings and wherever you go, what is happening? The world is spinning out of control.

And, folks, one of these days and it's happening now. There is going to come a cry in the house of God, just as it was after 9 -11 in this city when the churches were filled and pastors got up and didn't say anything about it.

And people were getting up right here in New York. And I've told you about this. It was in The New York Times. They were demanding to know why they wanted to know what's the Bible say about it. There was no word.

There was here. There was other places where the word was here. We're praying pastors who knew the times were able to tell the people what God was doing. He was sending a message. Wake up. We missed the message.

But God's not going to let it be missed much longer. Hallelujah. He's going to stir up by showing his handwriting on the wall and by supernaturally storing, restoring those dormant gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Faith, evangelism, all of the outreaches that have been lying dormant and those that have just been gimmicks. And folks, haven't we had enough merchandising of Jesus? Have we had enough of this Jesus balloons, Jesus shirts, Jesus watches?

I don't know who's making all this money. But folks, what a far cry from what God's talking about here in his book. What a far cry from what God's plan is for his church. And it's not going to come out of a conference, not mine or anybody else's.

It's going to come out of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in his last times. He said the river went into the desert and everywhere it went, life began to spring up. Then it went to the Dead Sea.

Healing the Dead Sea and Gathering a Great Harvest

He saw it empty into the Dead Sea. Now, I don't have to stretch very far to explain to you what that represents. What do you think the Dead Sea represents? It's this convoluted, confused, wicked society and time in which we live.

Where there's death, pedophilia, perversions of all kinds, false doctrines and false prophets saying that Jesus wants you to be rich. One of those false prophets said publicly, and it was said on television, Jesus can't come till you have your new house and your new car.

You know, we live in this. This our society today is the Dead Sea. There was nothing that lived in the Dead Sea. Everything was dead. There were no fish. This represents. Here is the prophet looking at this.

He doesn't understand it, but he said that there's waters to swim in. And that word in Hebrew is swarm. And it has to do with fish. And the Bible says, Ezekiel said he sees he saw the river. Well, let me read it to you.

And it went down into the desert and it goes to the sea, which being brought forth into the sea. The waters shall be healed. The waters shall be healed. If our Bible is what we believe it to be, the inerrant word of God.

And if God said, I'm going to pour out my spirit in the last days, surely in the last of the last days, we're going to get the greatest flow that has ever come out of the throne of God. We are destined for that.

I believe everything in the Bible prophesies that. And then everything that ever where the river goes. The Bible said everything comes to life. Now, let me tell you why this vision has to be for our time and not for a kingdom age timer for the millennium, because the Bible says the banks are going to be filled with fishermen and they're going to stretch out their nets.

Well, when we get past Armageddon, when we get in the kingdom, nobody going to be fishing, nobody going to eat fish. This this represents a harvest, the greatest harvest in the history of the church. Let me read it to you.

And it shall come to pass that everything that lives and moves wherever the river comes, it shall live. There should be a very great multitude of fish because these waters have come thither, for they shall be healed and everything shall live.

Whether the river comes, it shall come to pass that fishers will stand upon it or on the banks. It shall be a place to spread forth their nets. Their fish shall be according to their kind as the fish of the great sea.

Exceedingly many folks fish. What did Jesus? I'm going to make you fishers of men. These are men. These are women. These are former homosexuals, former drug addicts, alcoholics, businessmen, people of all life.

And folks, when the river comes, all the limits are taking off. No one is now unreachable, not the homosexual community. Now, folks, the time is coming when I'll not be able to tell you what I'm about to tell you, because I would probably be led to jail.

That's right. In the United States, this is in Europe right now. In some countries, we are saying I'm saying to the homosexual community right now, simply this. The Bible does condemn the sin, but it also condemns adultery, fornication and all of these others.

But I am saying now the church of Jesus Christ has given up on whole segments of society. They've given up the homosexuals as incurable. And rather than sending out hope to a generation of young people who've given themselves to that lifestyle, who live lonely lives, it eventuates into loneliness and sometimes to alcoholism and the emptiness, not just in the homosexual community, but in all these communities that are going into something, looking for peace and looking for rest for their soul.

And we've backed away from that and just given up. And I'm saying to the homosexual community, I don't know how far this gets outside of this church, through tapes or whatever, or videos. We're still saying to those who are restless and those who are tired and those who are discouraged and empty, in these communities, Jesus is still the cure.

This river has the power to heal you and set you free. Nothing is impossible with God. Sitting in front of me now are former drug addicts. Many of you were on drugs, alcoholism. You were bound by sexual problems.

You were bound by all kinds of sins. And the river came and you went into the river and the river went into you. And you've been changed by the power of God. Testimony to just the beginning of what God wants to do in these troubled times, when men's hearts are failing them for fear of seeing those things come on the world.

The River’s Work in the Local Church

The river, folks, it's been flowing in this church for 20 years and it's getting deeper. It's getting wider and more and more souls are coming to Jesus. We may have to baptize every Sunday now in the future to handle what we see coming.

We are not trying to build up numbers in this church. We don't know how many attend this church because we don't have a membership. The only thing that holds you here is the Holy Spirit. And we are not trying to build some mega super church.

Thank God for them. We don't care where you go to church when you come here, as long as you get a Bible church. But, folks, we're going this new moving of the Holy Spirit, not a new moving, but an intensified moving of the Holy Spirit is going to happen.

Slowly but surely, the closer we get to the coming of the Lord, I see the Holy Spirit standing up against Satan saying, I'm taking charge now. Oh, God, my prayers, forgive us for our small thinking. We're not thinking about greatness or huge buildings, but having to do with the fish.

My Bible says and Ezekiel says it, and I believe this standing here. I believe it with everything in my body, mind, soul and spirit that this is a prophecy for this time, this day, right now. God said that river is going to flow into the Dead Sea and it's going to bring healing.

Now, a lot of hard hearted stuff is going to flow over into the marshes and turn to salt. But the Lord said there's going to be a great work happening right in the middle of Dead Sea. Fish are going to start growing and expanding and increasing.

And there's going to be a multitude. And what does the Bible say on that day when we stand before the throne of Christ? Multitudes, which no man can number. Hallelujah. And where did they come from? They came from the most populated societies in history.

Never has there been a greater population than right now. Hallelujah. I'm going to close in a minute, but I want to talk to my Christian brothers and sisters here who say, well, you talk about a river passing day, but I feel very dry.

I don't feel like much of anything coming out of me have benefit to the kingdom of God. I don't feel like I am. There's no river flowing out of me. It could be right now that you're going through your greatest problem ever.

Faith, Unbelief, and the Artesian Well of the Spirit

Now, in the Old Testament, you had to draw the water out of the well. The Scripture says you'll draw water out of the well. But in the New Testament, you don't draw the water. It's an artesian well. It's a well springing up.

An artesian is a well that has a subterranean pressure that causes it to flow constantly and increasingly. Subterranean, way down in the depths of the soul of Almighty God. The pressure of the Holy Spirit.

Now, you may not believe it, but that well, I don't care if you see it. I don't care if you feel it. Go back to Ezekiel. Watch him go through the water. Did his feelings have anything to do with the flow?

He walking down there and suddenly the enemy comes and lies to him and says, you're not in the water. That doesn't affect the flow. And I don't care how you feel. I don't care what you're going through.

If you believe the Holy Spirit is the power of God and given to all who ask. If you're walking with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the artesian is there. There's a well that's flowing. And the only thing that can hinder that flow is unbelief.

Nothing else. Unbelief. The mother of all sins. That's the only thing that can hinder this river. So while you sit here now and you feel dry and you feel that there's nothing good coming out of you. I want you to begin to just praise the Lord when you begin to praise the Lord.

And when you begin to worship him in your problem, in your trial, the water begins to flow. The river begins to flow. Why don't you lift your hands and say thank you, Holy Spirit, for the flow. The Holy Spirit abides.

He shall. None could be. Maybe he shall spring up as living water, producing life in you, in your family, in those around you. You may not see it. I didn't see it when a young man received a letter just recently.

A Testimony of Deliverance from Suicide

A young man in the middle of the country with a gun in his hand, sitting in his room, tired of life and pain. There's a gun, a revolver to his head and a still small voice says, wait, go to the mailbox.

He puts his gun down. And this is what he wrote to me in letter. He said someone sent me the cross and switchblade. He said, I got your book. I start reading it halfway through the spirit of God came on me.

I got saved and I laid my gun down and I'm seeking God. Folks, this river is like the wind of God. It goes where it pleases. It goes where it pleases. Down at the Bible school, they're praying for a great moving of the Holy Spirit this year.

Beyond anything they've ever seen, those young people are going to be fasting and praying and seeking God. But, folks, this is the time for faith, to believe it, to see it in your eye. This I close. The man asked Ezekiel, what do you see?

Do you understand? He couldn't, even though the spirit of Christ was on, but it is given to us. This great hope, the church of Jesus Christ is going out in the praises of almighty God, carrying a multitude, the nets full.

The Church’s Mission to Win Souls

Everybody's got a fishing pole. Everybody pulling in fish. Everybody is winning souls for Jesus. I am convinced of that. This is not some hype. This is not trying to work you up into a shout. Though I feel like shouting.

We stand. Hallelujah. How great is your faith? Heavenly Father, we are people of your word. We have not seen some new revelation. It's just a grand old truth laying right here before our eyes. Oh, Holy Spirit, you're going to come and make Christ real.

You're going to make Jesus come alive as no other generation has ever beheld. Lord, that brings an excitement. We look at the times and we see the fearful sights and sounds and we don't tremble. Because after all, it's a good day for Christians to be alive.

It's a good day to be full of the Holy Spirit. It's a good day to anticipate what God has promised. And we stand on your promises now, Lord. We lay hold of your promise. Lord, do it again in New York City.

Do it greater than it's ever been. Lord, do what has never been accomplished in any other revival. God, you're able to save hundreds of thousands in this city. Lord Jesus, on subways and buses and on the streets and in the churches, oh, God, flow river of life.

Flow into us now. Flow through us. Let it spring up, oh, God. Let us begin to just praise you and worship you and stand on the promises of God, no matter how we feel, no matter what may be happening in our bodies, in our spirits.

Oh, no more lies of the devil. We'll stand on the written word of God. We will believe the Holy Spirit has filled us to do a mighty work in many lives. Now, while you stand here in his presence, I'm asking, I'm going to give an invitation.

The Invitation to Repentance and Healing

We do that in this church after every service, every service. We don't know who came. We don't know why you're here. But God, he arranges things. You know that, don't you? He arranges things. You're sitting, standing right where he wanted you this morning.

He brought a word to you that he wanted to give to you. And I'll tell you, if your heart is open, he's going to come. He's going to minister to you. And you walk out of this place satisfied and filled with his spirit.

If you're here and you say, Pastor David, I'm one of those in that dryness. I'm one of those who've been harassed in my mind by the enemy. I'm not going to explain all that. You know what harassment is.

You know what the lies of the enemy are all about. We're here to pray. This is a praying church, and we'll pray for you. Don't sign anything. And we don't count heads. We just want the Holy Spirit to meet every need in the house.

If you need healing, you don't have to have hands laid on you. You can be healed right where you stand because the river is flowing right now in this house. The river, the Holy Spirit, and everywhere the river went, there was healing.

I want you to step out of your seat. Come. I'll pray with you. The church will pray with you in the annex. You can just go to the lobby, and they'll show you the way here, down. And you can come and join us here while they minister to us in music.

You step out of your seat. You say, Pastor David. And some of you say, I've drifted from the Lord, or I don't know Christ. You come with these. You come. You need a healing, especially in not just your body.

If we did that, everybody would come. I'm talking about an incredible struggle that you're going through, something that you can't handle on your own, something that has to be done supernaturally through prayer.

Persevering in Prayer for Unsaved Loved Ones

I have something the Holy Spirit just laid on my heart to say. Some of you that love the Lord and walk with him have almost come to a place where you've given up on your unsaved loved ones. You know there's somebody in your family, your immediate family or your wider family, that you've been praying about, and they seem so hard and seem so impossible that you've given up.

Folks, don't do that, because the Spirit's moving now as he's never moved before. There is conviction. And as the conditions of the world worsen, and like Jesus said, hearts flitting from fear, God can use that fear to create a thirst and a hunger to look for help.