Audio Sermon: Redeemer Is Returning to Zion — David Wilkerson

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The Redeemer’s Coming to Zion

The Redeemer is coming to Zion. Heavenly Father, if we knew tonight how close we are to the coming of Christ, if we really knew how short our time was, we would not be sitting here so nonchalantly in your presence.

There would be a detachment from the world. There would be such a hunger in our hearts. We would be lifted out of ourselves into the very presence of God. Oh, Holy Spirit, I invite you to come now. Take over this service in a supernatural way, that no flesh should glow in your presence, but that we would hear from the very throne of God.

Oh, Holy Spirit, minister your word. Minister to us, Lord, and give us hearing ears that we could hear what the Spirit would say to us. In Jesus' name, amen. I'm going to bring you a prophetic word from the Lord tonight.

The Redeemer of Zion is about to appear in His glory in our day in His church. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression and Jacob, sayeth the Lord. Now, the vision of Isaiah the prophet is about to be fulfilled.

Isaiah’s Warning About Truth Falling

God is about to move with vengeance toward all who twisted the truth of the gospel, and all who have become covetous. Isaiah spoke of our day. He spoke of the conditions in the church of the last days.

He said, truth has fallen into the streets. Yea, truth has failed. And he that departed from evil maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment. And Isaiah is saying to us right now, let it be known that God is angry.

Truth is being twisted and trampled upon. The church of Christ has become victimized by those who preach false doctrines. And God is displeased because no one will stand up and judge the perversions of truth.

No one's standing up to judge the perversion of truth. And it displeased Him that there was no judgment. God's ministers were sitting idly by while the truth was being thrown to the ground and trampled upon.

Lying spirits had found a voice in the church, and no one stood against it. True men of God refuse to judge the false doctrines creeping in. Therefore the Lord said, I'll judge it myself. The Redeemer of Zion is going to come, and He's going to judge the carnality.

He's going to judge our wickedness. He's going to judge our covetousness. And He's going to judge all the mockery of the truth of Jesus Christ in these last days. And He, the Lord, saw that there was no man.

And He wondered that there was no intercessor. And He said, where are the men with discernment? Where are those who will show the people the truth? Because truth is falling. Few people care, few people understand.

And the Lord said, I wonder why. Where are the men who stand up in discernment and show my people the truth? The Redeemer Himself is about to clothe Himself with vengeance, the Bible said, and zeal. And He's going to move quickly to His church with fury and holiness.

For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation is on His head. And He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing. And He was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, the Lord says, I will repay.

He's coming back to His church. Even now, the Bible said, He's putting on the uniform of a glorious captain. He's coming wearing a breastplate of holiness. And He said, there's vengeance, and there's fury, and there's judgment.

For the Lord shall judge His saints. The Lord shall judge His people. Something new. Something awesome. Something eternal. It's about to happen in the house of God. He said, it's going to be sudden. It's going to be glorious.

The Enemy’s Flood Against the Church

Now, you've heard that the Bible predicts that the last day, everything that can be shaken will be shaken. But let's ask God now by the Spirit for an understanding. Why is He coming to His church with vengeance and fury?

And why must the Lord Himself return to Zion? Why is the Lord going to take the matter out of the servant's hands, out of the old minister's hands? He's going to take this matter of defending His truth.

Why is He going to do it in His own sovereign power? It's all clearly laid out by the prophets. First of all, the Redeemer is coming to Zion because the enemy has come in like a flood against the church.

The enemy has come in like a flood. Isaiah said, when the enemy shall come in like a flood. Satan in these past few years, especially the past five, maybe ten at the most, has been flooding the church with one new doctrine after another.

There's been a spirit of covetousness and carnality. Satan has poured out a demonic flood of adultery and morality and filth. John the Revelator saw it coming. This is what he warned us. And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth and persecuted the woman, which brought forth a man-child, and the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

This flood of Satan is all-out war against the true church, against the overcomers. And the dragon was angry with the woman and went to war with the remnant of her seed, which kept the commandments of God and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We are witnessing right now the devil's final attack against the chosen, the very elect. The Bible said he will seduce, if it were possible, even the chosen of God. And Daniel suggests that for a season he'll prevail.

For a season he'll be successful. The horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. He prevailed against the saints until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.

And the time came that the saints would possess the kingdom. I ask you now, is Satan prevailing for a season right now? Come on now, is the United States and Canada, I tell you, for a season Satan is prevailing?

You and I know that the gates of hell will never prevail against the church of Jesus Christ in the end. But is he prevailing for a season now? Has Satan established a beachhead in the church, a stronghold?

Are many, many of God's chosen being deceived? What happens in the church to this woman in the wilderness until the Redeemer comes with fury and vengeance? Satan will come with another gospel, the Bible says.

False Apostles and the Gospel of the Flesh

And Paul told us exactly how he's going to come against God's holy people to try to deceive them. We're not talking about homosexuals and drug addicts now. We're talking about overcoming saints of God.

We're not talking about preachers of the gospel. For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it's no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.

Paul, that's awesome. Many will come in these last days who are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Satan's stronghold in the church in the last day is a host of teachers and ministers who've been transformed by our gospel of the flesh.

They have come to us as the Lord's most enlightened ministers. They sound just like the preachers of the gospel. They freely use the name of Jesus. They speak of righteousness. They use the scripture.

They cast out devils. They heal the sick in the Lord's name. They do many wonderful works. But their message is not of God. It's another gospel. It's a deception. It's of the flesh, and it's not of the spirit.

And many of these teachers have been so deceived by the devil, they're blind to what they preach. They're preaching lies, and they believe it to be the truth. They're not even aware they're the tools of Satan.

You understand that they are men who started out right, but they're transformed by the gospel they're preaching. It's doing something in them and to them. And right now, these false doctrines of Satan are prevailing in the church in many areas.

Multitudes of God's people are flocking to conventions and meetings to hear this other gospel. This gospel of self and prosperity and success. The gospel of the flesh is riding high in the church. Come on, Christian, wake up!

Are you and I being deceived? Have we been trapped into the teachings of an angel of light from Satan? Are you being swept away by this flood that the prophets told us would sweep the church and for a season would prevail?

Get into God's Word and hear the true gospel of Jesus and begin to judge now what we see and hear. And compare what Jesus said to what they are saying. This picture proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Satan's new flood, his new gospel, is gain, is godliness.

Gain is godliness. Listen to this. Clearly, if you don't hear anything else I say, hear this now. It's a compromising message without repentance or godliness. It promises forgiveness without repentance.

Offer people now as forgiveness. On your television, just listen. Happiness and forgiveness, it's all offered freely. No repentance. It's a gospel of gain. It's based on the supposition that the godlier you are, the more gain you will have.

Oh, listen to Paul's frightful warning. If any man teach otherwise, even other than the words of our Lord Jesus, into the doctrine which is according to godliness, that man is proud. He knows nothing.

He's destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. Paul cried out, turn away from them. Turn away from this other gospel. Do you want to hear the true gospel, Christian? Do you want to hear what Jesus really said?

Jesus’ Warnings Against Prosperity

In this day and age of success and prosperity, you want to know what the gospel says? Are you interested? Here it is from the words of our Master himself. Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are ye that hunger, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you. And they shall separate you from their company, and they'll reproach you.

And cast out your name as evil, for the son of man's sake. Now, here's what the gospel says about people in these modern times and the churches seeking after material things. From the lips of Jesus himself.

Woe unto you that seek to be rich, for you've received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full, for you shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for so did the fathers to the false prophets.

The gospel of James despises poverty. It rejects and despises the poor. Listen to what James said. He said, but ye have despised the poor. You say unto him that's prosperous and dressed best with the gold rings and the fine apparel, sit up here in the good place.

And to the poor you say, sit here in the low place. Sit at the footstool. This is a gospel of partiality to the prosperous and successful. And it's an indictment against the poor to whom Jesus ministered.

It exalts prosperity and success. James said, are you not partial? Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom? And for you preachers of the gospel who try to tell me that he became poor, that we could become rich in houses and lands.

You don't know your Bible. There it is. It says, hath not God chosen the poor, rich in faith? How blind is the church today? How blind? Is this the gospel for a dying world? Faith is godliness. Faith is for prosperity.

Poor people lack faith. Christ became poor so that we could be rich in material goods. He came to give us abundant life. Is abundant life supposed to be worldly goods? No, that's eternal life. That is the fullness.

You and I don't have the life. We have just the seed. The life is encapsulated in that seed. And one day we're going to have abundant life. And that's eternal life in Jesus. We don't have it now. We're going to get it then.

One billion people on this earth are near starvation. The heart of Jesus is breaking over the sight of weeping mothers who hold starving babies with their bloated stomachs. Millions are unemployed. The ends of the world are coming down on us.

The world's headed for Armageddon. Our cities in America and Canada are about to explode again in riots. Persecution and tribulation are coming. The Bible said the elements are going to melt with the fervent heat.

The world's on fire. All over the world, God's chosen people are being jailed. They're being persecuted. They're losing all they possess. They're taking joyfully the sporting of their goods. And you tell me that God's going to send a man of God to tell me that I have a right to be rich?

Is that a man who comes to me in the face of a starving world and said, Use your life. Use your faith. You can be rich. You can be prosperous. You can have a bigger car. You can have a better home. What's happened to us?

Can we be? You say that's an American message. No, it's sweeping all over Canada right now. We got it all wrong. The rich man went to hell. The poor man went to heaven. From such turn away. These preachers have no burden for repentance.

They don't preach against sin. They offer blessings without sorrow. They are accumulators of this world's good. They accumulate. I've heard a preacher say, I have to be successful. I have to drive a nice car.

I have to prove what I'm preaching. Makes me want to cry. Amos the prophet cried out, Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, Unconcerned about the evil day ahead. They lie upon beds of ivory. They stretch themselves upon their couches, And they eat the lambs of the flock, And they drink wine in bowls.

And they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph. They're not grieved. And I shudder to think of standing before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, Having preached that kind of a message. The Redeemer is coming back to Zion To break down every stronghold of Satan.

And He's coming back to Zion to raise up a standard of truth. When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him. What is this standard? That's going to swallow up the flood?

What kind of sovereign fury is going to be released very soon in the church, folks? It's a sovereign fury. You can put all your books on Phiney away. A hundred ways to every Bible. Put them away. This is a sovereign work of God to be released in the church.

What is this vengeance the prophets are talking about? Hear it. It's the actual presence of God. The actual living presence of God. The church in these last days is going to experience God actually appearing in their midst.

And the Redeemer shall suddenly come to Zion. That's the church. He's always come suddenly. He came suddenly at the day of Pentecost. He came suddenly to Paul. He comes suddenly, folks. One day it's not there, the next day it's here.

He's going to suddenly appear in his actual presence. This time the judge is coming himself to the church. The general of the armies is coming. He's coming in power and awesome glory. Now, you and I know that wherever two or three are gathered in his name, there he is in our presence.

And I admit that, folks, that's like the ray of the sun compared to the heat of the sun. The closer you get to the sun, the brighter and the hotter. But the Lord said he's going to remove himself out of his chamber.

And he's going to suddenly come forth. He's going to appear in his church. The Lord will come who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness. And he will expose the counsels of the heart. Every preacher in this building listen to me.

Every evangelist, every missionary. You and I know God's not going to raise up a new prophet. The days of big time advances are over. They're over. Babylon's coming down. All the men who shine. They're not going to shine anymore.

All the bigness, all the greatness, all the glory is coming down. And the Lord is going to appear in Zion's midst. No new revelation. Folks, there's no new revelation coming. You say radio. We've had radio for 50 years now.

We've had millions and millions. The chairman's on radio and the world is still lost. And America's undone. Television. No, television is not the answer. That's a part of it. But that's not going to do it.

We've had that now for 20 years. It still isn't doing it. We've had the best preaching in the history of the world. We have the best churches. We have all the machinery. Oh, no, no, folks. There's only one hope.

There's only one hope left, and that's the awesome presence of God. God breaking through everything and coming in His presence to the church. We are going. I prophesy right here and now we're on the verge of a revival of the actual presence of God.

Purification in the Presence of God

The Holy Spirit's going to open the eyes of His people. He's going to pull the scales from our eyes. And you and I are going to come up against the terrifying presence of God. The earth shook. The heavens dropped at the presence of God.

Even Sinai was moved at His presence. And the Lord, whom ye seek. Folks, you understand that we're so deaf and dumb and blind now we hear this and don't hear it. We have ears to hear and we don't hear.

Believe it. Whom ye seek shall certainly come to His temple. He shall come, saith the Lord. And who's going to bear up on the day of His coming? Who shall stand when He appears? Do you know that all the preaching of gain is God and this is going to melt in His presence?

All the pride of success, all the secret, hidden sin is going to melt like wax before the presence of God. The Bible said, As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

For He is the refiner's fire. He shall sit as refiner and purifier of silver. He shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. The first thing He's going to do, folks, when He appears in His church again, He's going to work on the ministry first.

He's going to sit as refiner of fire and He's going to purge Levi. This is the ministry. And, folks, I tell you, the day is coming. Whether we want it or not, He said, I'll manifest myself to those who weren't even speaking after my name.

And God said, I'm going to remove out of my place and I'm suddenly coming to my church. And, oh, He's going to come in a melting power. Who's going to stand on that day? Who's going to glorify Himself on that day?

Who's going to talk about the church He built or the ministry He's established? I don't care if you pastor the biggest church in the world. It's not going to mean a thing in the sight of God. It doesn't matter.

All idolatry is going to come down. For behold, the Lord shall come forth out of His place. He will come down. He will tread upon the high place of the earth and the mountains shall be molten under Him and the valleys shall be cliffed as wax before the fire.

Isaiah said, oh, that He would render heavens, that you'd come down, that the mountains might flow away at your presence. As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causes the water to boil. So make thy name known to the adversaries that the nation may tremble at His presence.

Jeremiah cried, will you not fear the Lord? Will you not tremble in His presence? God said to Ezekiel, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth shall shake at My presence and the mountains shall be thrown down and every wall shall come tumbling to the ground.

Every wall coming down. Listen, if the ungodly were going to shake and tremble in His holy presence, how is anyone going to stand in the presence of God in His house? How are you and I going to stand when He appears?

He said, every wall is going to fall to the ground. Down comes all the boasting, all the books and teaching on success. Down comes all the idols of self. Down with self-promotion. Down with merchandising the gospel.

Down with all the thieves that are trading in God's house. This house will be a house of prayer, no longer a den of iniquity. No more seeking after the things of this world. No more squandering your faith on temporal things.

No more trying to make a name for yourself because judgment is going to begin in this house. His presence is going to frighten and melt everything in sight. He's going to humble His servants. No minister will be allowed to boast in His presence.

It's going to become fatal. Listen, it's going to become fatal to harvest secret sin. I believe we're going to see many whose flesh is going to be destroyed that their soul may be saved. People are going to die in the house of God once again.

Knowing Christ Before the Judgment

There's no less than glory in His presence. You say, how can you preach like that, Brother Dave? I've had an experience like Paul had in Peter. I heard my summons a few weeks ago, and he told me of my time of departure.

And at that moment, I renounced the world and everything that's in it. And from that moment, I knew what he said when he said, Many, many shall come on that day and saying, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?

Have we not cast out devils? Have we not healed the sick in Your name? And He'll say, I never even knew you. And the other side of that coin is, you never knew me. You understand that not a few, but many, many, many who have built churches, who have had ministries around the world, and they were so busy they didn't take time to know Him.

And it suddenly dawned on me, if I have my summons, there's only one thing left in this world that matters, and that's to really know Him. To know Him, because you and I have to stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.

You understand that, folks? We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account. And God's made it so clear to me, He's interested more in winning all of me than He is in my winning all the world for Him.

Until He has all of me, I don't know Him. And I tell you, the time is coming soon that God is going to break through in our midst. Preachers are going to get up and confess their sins publicly. I've already seen it happen.

I received a call, the revival just broke out in Chicago. It's happening there, it's happening in California. And the day is coming you will not be able to stand in the presence of the Lord. You will fall on your face and you will confess your sins and no flesh will glory in His presence.

You're going to have to flee like Jonah from the presence of the Lord. You won't hold your secret sin any longer. How many times has the Holy Spirit dealt with you? How many times did He say, lay it down?

And the only reason you still flirt with it is because you have not yet come into His awesome presence. I hear people say, oh, the Lord is moving in our midst. We have seen and felt the presence of God.

Folks, you and I don't know what we're talking about. We don't know what we're talking about. If God was really in our midst tonight, I would be the first one down on my face. I couldn't preach. Every man behind me would be on his knees saying, God, I am nothing, I have nothing, I'm nothing.

I stand in this house, another minute without confessing, lifting His hand, crying out to God. Your head wouldn't be in the air, it would be in the dust. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, hand lifted up.

This train filled the temple, and above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings, with two he covered his face and two he covered his feet. Do you understand that the seraphim couldn't even stand to look so they covered their eyes?

They were so ashamed of themselves, they covered their bodies. They didn't want Him to look, and they couldn't stand to look in His face. With twain they covered their eyes, and with twain they covered their bodies.

And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. And the post of the door moved, as the voice of Him that cried in the house was filled with smoke.

Then said, I woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. And the message is, see the Lord and die.

See the Lord and die. All success, all self-esteem, all secret sin, it's all going to vanish in His presence. It's going to turn to corruption. Daniel said, I lifted up my eyes and I looked, and behold, a certain man was there clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with fine gold.

His body was like burl. His face had the appearance of lightning. His eyes were lamps of fire. His arms and his feet like in color to brass, polished brass. And the voice of His words were like the voice of a multitude.

And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision. But a great quaking fell upon them, so they fled and hid themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and I saw this vision.

There remained no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned to corruption. I retained no strength in me, yet I heard the voice of His words. When I heard the voice of His words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground.

And when He had spoken His words to me, I set my face upon the ground, and I became dumb. Couldn't say a word. When the presence of God comes in His house, people are going to stand and confess, or they're going to melt and harden themselves.

We're going to cry, woe is me. I'm not a success. I'm not a winner. I'm ungunned. I'm Jacob's worm. I'm a proud man. I'm a proud woman. I know nothing. I have nothing. But for His blood I'm damned. But for His grace I'm damned.

Preparing the Bride for Christ’s Return

And then you'll learn to cry out with Paul, He's chosen the weak things of the world, the foolish, the nothings, that know a flash of glory in His presence. Now finally, the Redeemer's coming to Zion to prepare His bride for the wedding, to prepare His bride for the wedding.

Lord, come to Zion. Gather the people. Sanctify the congregation. Assemble the elders. Gather the children and the infants that suck the breast. Let the bridegroom go forth to his chamber, the bride out of the closet.

Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. For His wife has made herself ready. She is a radiant white, in fine linen and righteousness. People, let me tell you what the real gospel is.

This is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this. Put on righteousness. Lay aside every weight of the sin that easily besets you. Don't become entangled with the things of this world. Go forth now to median.

Get your lamps burning. Get your oil supplies. Don't set your affection on things below but on things above. Don't lay up treasures anymore here on earth. That's the gospel. I'll tell you why the Redeemer has to come to Zion with His presence.

Because the church is not ready to meet Him. We're not ready. There's too much hay, wood and stubble. It's going to burn. God made this so real to me. He's been speaking to me night after night. Saying to my heart, I've got to come back to Zion.

I've got to have people face my presence now. Let there be no hope for them when they stand there. Because, folks, if we don't allow the fire of His presence to burn out the dross, if we don't allow Him to burn out the sin and the pride now, how do you stand before Him?

I had last week a beautiful six-hour experience in the Spirit. When He laid me down and said, The Spirit should come. The Spirit should come. And I found myself racing through the universe past the stars in an outer darkness.

But there was no fear because I was racing further and further out into eternity. And suddenly the world was so small. There was nothing left. There was nothing but a speck up there in space. And the further out I got toward His presence, away from the world and all of its beggarly elements, the more I was crying, I'm nothing.

I'm nothing. I have nothing. I have done nothing. I could feel the utter nothingness, the emptiness. And I could say, It's only grace. It's only mercy. That's all I have. Grace and mercy. And that's when the Lord said, David, there's something more important than your ministry even, more than your family and everything else, and that's to know Me.

To know Me. You have to have this presence of Christ revealed to us now before we go to judgment and we cannot stand there. What's it going to be like to stand before the judgment seat? It's a private chamber as far as I'm concerned.

Forget the masses this time. You can put them at the great white throne. And just as He said, I stand one at a time at the door of your heart and I'll knock. You're going to wait outside His chamber, Christian.

And He said some of us are going to suffer loss. Do you remember when Satan took Jesus to mountaintop and showed Him in an instant all the powers of this world? He said you're going to have it in an instant there before His throne.

And you'll know as soon as you enter that presence. And He opens that door and you're ushered in. And there's nothing there in that chamber but the Judge, Jesus Christ, the Judge whose eyes are a flame of fire.

And you suspended in space. Nothing, no place to stand. Nothing. But His grace and His mercy. And He shows you all you've done. Time He builds your world again. And He told you your motives. And He said, see, you said to my glory.

But it was to your pride. You built your empire. My kingdom. Every secret sin. All they would confess. But still holding, clinging on, besetting you, vexing you. And that's going to be the greatest revelation of grace that you could ever receive.

And how many, many thousands in the church of Jesus Christ, and even ministers, because that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination of time to the Lord. Some of the greatest known men on this earth are going to stand there naked with nothing, nothing, nothing.

They're going to be stripped naked. And they're only going to say, mercy Jesus, mercy. Oh, you'll get His grace, but you won't get His glory. I want more than grace, I want the glory. Jesus said that they may see my glory which the Father has given to me.

Hope He's going to manifest His glory. We're going to go to glory with glory in our hearts. The glory is coming back to His church. And when that glory appears, remember what Jesus said to Mary. He said, did not say to you if you would believe you would see the glory of God.

Folks, do you want to spend your faith on something worthwhile? He said, did not tell you if you would believe in God's faith you'd see what? Material pleasure, no, the glory. That's where I'm going to spend my faith.

God said, you're going to see my glory. You're going to see my glory. I've already touched it. I've already felt it. Do you understand that your cars, that you drive 20 years from now, that Jesus said they're going to be on a heap somewhere just rusting away?