The sound still resonates within me just as powerfully as the words God spoke to me that day. At the very moment He said, “The ages are trying to connect,” I could hear the sound of gears grinding, what you’d hear when a car with unsynchronized gears is shifting from one gear to the next.
It’s been a few months since that experience with the Lord, but it didn’t take months for me to understand what He was trying to communicate. The Lord was saying that He is trying to shift the church into a new season, and we must synchronize our hearts and minds into alignment with this new era. Our thinking, and even our activities, must change.
Over a decade prior, I heard the Lord say to me, “I need the synergy of the ages.” These words marked my life, giving greater definition to my God-given assignment to America. In short, synergy can be described as the multiplied power resulting from the combined strength of two or more people working together.
This concept—the synergy of the ages—amplified my understanding of what happens when we agree with the prayers, prophetic decrees and acts of obedience released by the generations who’ve gone before us. I share much more of the revelation on synergy in a previous blog, which you may read here.
Of equal importance to my spiritual journey and the road to revival for America, is understanding times and seasons, also referred to as the word “ages.” Hebrews 11:3 is an important verse of scripture to consider, for it reveals that the ages are connected, and the past reaches into today.
“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen not made out of things which are visible.”
Two words are essential to understand here. The Greek word translated “worlds” is aionas, which literally means “the ages”. Because this verse and this word are not limited to physical creation, but encompass everything created within the ages of time, the emphasis is more so on that of time, or the ages, and all that they contain.
“Prepared” is the Greek word katartizo, which means, “to put something into its proper position or alignment.” In biblical times, this was the word for setting a broken bone or popping a dislocated joint back into place, and may be likened to a chiropractic realignment of some part of the body. In Galatians 6, katartizo is translated “restore,” as in the restoration of a fallen brother or sister that has been dislocated from the Body of Christ. It is also used to illustrate the mending of torn nets.
Healing Humanity’s Misalignments
Putting these definitions back into the passage, we can see that God aligns, and when necessary, realigns the ages so that life and blessing can flow from one generation to the next (Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 103:17). All forms of sin and broken covenants take humanity out of alignment with God’s perfect will and divine order, causing curses and pain to flow through the generations (Exodus 34:7).
All down through history, however, God can be seen healing the breaches in the timeline and keeping things katartizo-ed, or realigned, so that His plans are fulfilled. Throughout biblical history, blood sacrifice and covenant-creating encounters have helped reset humanity into its proper place (Genesis 3:21; 17:1-8; 32:24-38, Hebrews 1:1-2; 11:1-2). The most profound adjustment in history, of course, took place at the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, where provision was made for the healing of our past and future, reaching back to Adam and forward to the end of all ages.
Tools for Realignment
Even though legal provision was made for the realignment of the ages to God’s will, the work isn’t finished! He is taking humanity down a pre-decreed path of restoration (Acts 3:21) toward the katartizo-ing of all things. America’s history is a part of this. God declared that she would exist for His eternal purposes. And though He knew there would be dislocations and shameful seasons, He decreed the healing of our land and the instruments through which He would accomplish this end.
From the beginning of time, God decreed the historical contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Jonathan Edwards, Francis Asbury, Charles Finney, William Seymour, and Martin Luther King, Jr. God has healed and realigned history through these and many other men and women who laid down their lives to answer the call made in Isaiah 58:12:
“Those from among you will rebuild the ancient runs;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.”
That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave! This passage presents a vivid picture of God’s heart for America. It also illustrates the reason I have partnered with Him to help raise a standard of prayer for this nation and fulfill the purposes of God in my generation (Acts 13:36).
Regardless of how great the challenges our nation currently faces, in spite of how far we have strayed from His will, God is seeking remnant people who, in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14, will help realign this nation with His will and purposes. And if we continue appealing to heaven, tapping into history’s places of proper alignment—the cross, the resurrection, Godly covenants, past anointings, and past moves of God—He will fulfill His promise to heal our land and release the blessing of a Third Great Awakening.
The Sound of Transition
As the sound of gears grinding indicates, however, these periods of realignment can be uncomfortably full of friction for us, as creatures of habit. But if we synchronize with heaven—becoming like the Sons of Issachar, who served as forerunners for their generation by understanding the times and seasons (1 Chronicles 12:32)—the gears will align. We will shift into the next age and move into the outpouring.
There is a great heavenly realignment—a katartizo—now in process. When completed it will cause life, blessings, awakening, and revival to flow into our generation. If we honor and connect with past movements, we will experience the strength of multiplied power and a saturation of generational anointings. The shifts required may not be easy or smooth, but God is looking for fearless pioneers to push through. Harvesting the victories, prayers and promises of the past, we can blaze trails toward new places in Him.
Join us for God’s great realignment of the ages!
Dutch Sheets is an internationally recognized teacher, conference speaker and author of The Power of Hope. He has written more than 20 books, translated into over 30 languages. His first work, Intercessory Prayer, sold nearly a million copies and is being used to empower believers worldwide for passionate prayer and societal transformation. He and his wife, Ceci, make their home in the Dallas area.
For the original article, please visit dutchsheets.org.