As I look into the coming year, it brings both awe and fear because of the move of God we are about to witness. There are two sides to what will happen—it will feel like the beginning of judgment.
When I say judgment, I'll tell you what I mean. It is the kind of judgment God brought upon Egypt. The Bible shows us that Egypt is a type of the world today. The world we live in is just like Egypt, and that is why Jesus said, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:19 NKJV).
When a man is born again, he comes out of the world and is born into the kingdom of God. So when you hear, we are not of this world, it is because God has separated us. God's people were once in Egypt, then He sent Moses to deliver them. Moses in the Old Testament is what Jesus is to us today. Just as Moses came to Egypt and brought God's people out, Jesus also came into this same world to bring us out of sin and death, for the Bible says, "...the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
But before God took them out, He brought punishment upon Egypt. The Bible records that when Moses stretched out his rod, "...all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank..." (Exodus 7:20–21). Later, "...there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:" (Exodus 10:22). These were the judgments of God on Egypt before His people were delivered.
Those same kinds of judgments—those punishments from God upon the people of the world—are what we will begin to see from this coming year. It will be so clear that the end is near. God will start bringing judgment on the world, just as it is written, "...the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17).
God's people who are not living in line with His plan will suffer alongside the world. This is very serious. This is the time to separate yourself fully to God. Do not live like the world. Do not compromise your faith. Walk in obedience and stay in alignment with God's Word, for only those who live by His plan will escape the destruction that is coming. Choose today to stand firm in Christ and let your life shine as light in the midst of darkness.