Very clearly the Bible says that God will always warn a people who have endeavored to embark on a wrong course of action; it is part of caring for him by the people he loves. Who are these people? The answer is; each one of us.

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)

Without getting bogged down in the theology of prophetic calling as described in the Bible, it is easier to say that there are only two main forms of prophecy. The first is the “gift of prophecy” that comes upon anyone who experiences a moving of God’s Holy Spirit for the express purpose of making a prophetic statement.

The gift can fall to anyone, from the humblest member of the church to a statesman, in the midst of a big speech or argument on the floor of Congress. Who receives the gift is entirely up to the giver. (1Cor 2:11)

The second type of prophetic statement comes from both individuals and organizations that have been given not the gift but the “office” of the prophet. (1 Cor 12:28) The difference is enormous. God establishes a source that can be trusted to give warning, admonition, rebuke, correction, and encouragement, if heeded.

One of the unique things about prophetic warnings is that they are always spoken in a universal context. The message is always the same wherever it is spoken around the world, it is a consensus. Today that consensus can be seen in dozens of people and ministries around the world.

In the United States, the consensus is found in ministries and ministers such as Worldview Weekend, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, David Wilkerson, John Hagee, Hal Lindsey, Perry Stone, and many others. They are always based on the Bible and run the gamut from evangelical to Pentecostal. Don’t be surprised to find that some prophetic warnings are coming from Catholic clergy these days as well.

The warnings of the prophets are not meant to shock or produce fear. They will always focus on preparation and are meant to prepare the wise and awaken the unbelievers. An example of this is found in the recent announcement by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to begin emphasizing the necessary preparations for the second coming of Christ. Since all premillennial prophecy (the second coming of Christ) points to that one event, it follows that such preparation must be emphasized at this juncture in world history.

When my own calling as a prophet came almost forty years ago, it was clear that I was to prophesy and that it was largely for my own countrymen. The other thing that was clear was that I am not exclusive. I don’t have the corner on the prophecy.

Because I don’t take all the ground in my calling, I have had to rely on parts of the message given to others to form a complete picture of what God is doing in our time. Among those I have trusted there has been one voice that stands out singularly from the crowd. That voice is that of Pastor David Wilkerson of the Times Square Church in downtown New York City.

Not since his book “The Vision” has David Wilkerson been as forthright with a powerful and devastatingly puzzling prediction as he has lately. The warning first published in World Net Daily is about a terrible gatekeeper that will start in New York City and nearby New Jersey and eventually spread to other cities across the nation and the world.

In the article “Famous Pastor Predicts Looming Catastrophe” published March 8, 2009, Wilkerson says that his vision of fires raging in New York and elsewhere are the beginning of judgments on the nation. Wilkerson says that he will “absorb the entire megaplex, including the New Jersey and Connecticut areas.” Major cities across the United States will experience riots and fires, as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago,” he explains. “There will be riots and fires in cities all over the world. There will be looting, including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under the wrath of God. In Psalm 11 it is written: “If the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do?”

Pastor Wilkerson does not give a specific timeline for these events, but says it is in the very near future, not many years from now. Can we believe him? My best response to that is “you bet,” but if you’re still skeptical, at least you’ve been warned.

The quote from the Psalms “If the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do?” it is entirely apropos of ongoing events in the United States. We have plunged into the deep waters of socialism under the Obama administration and it is not settling well in the hearts and minds of millions of Americans. Your feelings of helplessness and frustration are mounting without apparent recourse or determination. Truly, the voices of everyone, from the founding fathers to our contemporary prophets and seers, are being ignored.

The United States would rather hear a witty message mixed with false hope and false glory. Today we would prefer the lie of our prophets or assume the skillful rhetoric of the activist or political aspirant. The world may have become much more technological, but the state of the human heart remains the same. We love a great story, even if there isn’t a word of truth in it.

Socialism is still as much of a lie as when Marx, Mao or LBJ said it. Fascism is still as backward as when Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin tried it. Should we dabble in it again and expect a different result? Have you ever heard what twelve steppers often cite as the best definition of insanity?

During the 50 or so years of the prophetic ministry of the prophet Isaiah, he faced a crowd that wanted the exact same baby food as those of this day. They essentially asked Isaiah and his God to get lost. “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who do not listen to the law of the Lord, who say to the seers: Do not see, and to the prophets: Do not prophesy straight things to us, speak smooth things to us, prophesy. deceit: Get out of the way, get out of the way, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. (Isaiah 30:9-11)

God’s answer through the prophet Isaiah was: “Therefore this iniquity will be to you like a breach that collapses, that widens in a high wall, the rupture of which comes suddenly in an instant.” (Isaiah 30:12)

Terms like ‘suddenly and’ and ‘in an instant’ are somewhat more akin to this generation, the current generation, but obviously that’s not where it started. David Wilkerson’s message has that kind of ‘suddenly’ or ‘instantly’ connotation written all over it much like the ancient prophet Isaiah. My best advice would be to take this message seriously.

Remember, even the prophet does not want these things to happen. Ancient prophets like Jeremiah wept over the moral failure of their country and others cried out to God to consider his judgment. If not a single detail of upcoming events is revealed to the prophets, one thing is always clear to them. They see a very visible line drawn by the invisible God for every nation that forgets God.