Discerning Prophecy And End-Time Signs Shembull

The Fullness of the Times

To understand how the end times will unfold, we must realize that God is a God of supernatural cycles, times, and seasons, which He determines. A cycle is a period of time that has a beginning and an end point. A season is a period of time marked by supernatural favor. God’s appointed times are different from time on earth as we function in it from day to day and year to year. We human beings experience God’s cycles and seasons within our earthly realm and its time strictures. Nevertheless, because they are supernatural and eternal, they transcend time. This is another reason why, as we discussed earlier, the feasts of the Lord enable us to determine God’s timetable. The feasts are based on God’s seasons.

In addition to spiritual cycles, times, and seasons, there is the “fullness of the times”:

Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:9–10)

Prophetically, a fullness of time represents maturity, perfection, reconciliation, consolidation, full growth, and the time of fulfillment. It is the climax or high point of a cycle. The “fullness of the times” mentioned in the first chapter of Ephesians refers to the end of an ordered period of time or cycle that God has purposed. This final “fullness of the times” speaks of all things coming together in Christ at the end of all time.

The fullness of the times is the means by which God’s purposes for the world will accumulate to an apex. At its peak, this fullness will bring about the fulfillment of all remaining prophecies. Fullness is progressive, cumulative, and generational. A certain generation may be privileged to see the accumulation reach its fullness, but the fullness has been gestated throughout many preceding generations.

The End of an Era

As far as the church is concerned, there is a difference between the fullness of the times and the end of an era. The fullness of the times is the completion of all things, whereas the end of an era is the completion of one aspect of God’s purposes. 

Even the second coming of Christ at the beginning of the millennial age concerns the fullness of an era, or of a time, but not of all times. This is why it is so important for us to understand the fullness of the times.

Not all endings of an era look the same, but what is common to all is that they signal the conclusion of something old and the birth of something new. If something new does not manifest, it is safe to say we are still in the same era. For example, the end of John the Baptist’s assignment marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus and John were contemporaries, having been born months apart. However, their ministries were for different times. John’s mission closed the old covenant, while Jesus’ mission opened the new covenant.

Let us consider various events for which there was a fullness of time. Jesus was born in the fullness of a time—the time of the law under the old covenant. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4).

The church was born in the fullness of a time during the feast of Pentecost. We know the church was not birthed randomly because Jesus had been very specific about it with His disciples before He ascended to the Father’s throne. He told the disciples they should wait for the time to be fulfilled and the Holy Spirit to be sent to them in His place. (See Luke 24:49.)

Jesus will come back for His bride in the fullness of a time that marks the end of the church era. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17.) And Jesus will return to earth to begin His millennial reign in the fullness of a time at the end of the great tribulation; then, the world will begin a new, thousand-year era in which all nations will worship Jesus as King before Christ’s final battle against Satan and triumph over all evil.

What Is Fullness Based On? 

How can we recognize the fullness of a particular time? Fullness is based on two very marked events: the manifestation and the harvest. Let’s look at each of these elements.

The Manifestation

We cannot define the harvest without first defining the manifestation. As I said previously, we are about to see the greatest harvest of souls for the kingdom that has ever been reaped. But initially we will witness the manifestation of divine promises, dreams, visions, prophecies, miracles, signs, wonders, and resources that have not yet been fulfilled for the people of God. 

The Harvest

The harvest is the climax of spiritual accumulation, where we see the ripeness, or fullness, of the fruit. This will happen at the same time the manifestation occurs. Several of the feasts in the Old Testament occur around harvest time. “Jesus said to [His disciples], ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, “There are still four months and then comes the harvest”? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!’” (John 4:34–35). Here Jesus speaks about a spiritual harvest, saying that the fruit has already ripened and manifested for the kingdom of God.

We can see that the harvest from seeds sown for the gospel over many years is being reaped and will continue to be reaped throughout the world, including in Latin America and Africa. The end-time harvest of souls is ready!

In our next devotional, we will look at four types of fullness we can expect in these last days.