Portions of a Message Given by Gerald Derstine in 1970 at Christian Centre, Surrey, BC, Canada:
“. . . the church itself, who we claim to be a part of, we’re going to feel first the greatest effects of this coming of the glory of God. The presence of God coming upon this earth is going to affect us, through other people. As the presence of God comes, other people are going to try to disturb us. By that I mean, they don’t know God. They don’t know that God is coming. They don’t know that God’s kingdom is coming. They don’t want to believe it if we tell them. They say, ‘you’re crazy, impossible.’ We know it’s true. God’s word said so. Jesus Christ is returning. And when He returns He’s going to have a church without spot or wrinkle, a church that’s being perfected by the powers of evil that are upon the earth as these tests and trials come upon us, and it’s going to get much worse. It’s going to get much worse than what it is. I mean the tribulations are going to increase, as God’s presence comes closer upon the earth. . . . The presence of God as been changing me, been perfecting me, been testing me. And he’s changing you. He’s changing many of us. We’re living in the end of time where His presence shall come, and it’s going to move upon this earth. In 1961, let me tell you this. In ’61, in Sarasota, we had an unusual experience. . . . ‘had a vision of the wrath of God coming upon our American cities and this North American continent. Put your hands upon me and ask God to remove it from me, I can’t stand what I am seeing and what I’ve been seeing,’ and he was really disturbed. I could tell by the way he was talking and crying that he really did have a genuine vision. Of course, I didn’t know that had happened until daylight, when I was out of bed, and I then was only out for a short while when I met these other two brothers and they began to tell me what happened. They said, ‘Brother Derstine, when brother Bob left your house and came back, we were still in the room. We knew that God moved in him in a tremendous way. In fact, he was crying and groaning.’ When he left, that was the condition he was in. He figured he had to see me. Come over to my house. ‘But when he came back from our house, Brother Derstine, you won’t believe it, but when he came into our room, the glory of God was so great and so tremendous. It was so strong. As he was walking in the door, it seemed like a great, great glory, a brightness. It caused us to tremble. We were on our beds, but our bodies began to tremble so violently we couldn’t stay on the bed, we were so frightened, and we cried out to God, we literally screamed out to God, “Don’t come any closer, don’t come any closer,”‘ and he said, ‘we fell off our beds, and were laying on the floor, just trembling,’ and then this Bob, his voice began to speak [in] the most unusual way–if you can imagine somebody speaking while they’re spewing, bringing up everything inside, and here are the words that came out of his mouth and they both heard it clearly: ‘The vileness and wickedness of man has come up before me as a stink in my nostrils. And I cannot stay my hand any longer. The mockery of my word in the religious systems of America is an abomination to me.’ As they were coming out of his mouth, supernaturally, these words. That was in 1961. And during that day, that morning, as we were assembled together, the Holy Spirit was still moving through this Bob, and one of the things that he said to us under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, said that what had happened here that morning, had also happened in other parts of the world–that same message and vision was given to others of God’s people. And I was glad to hear that. . . . We had the first evidence of it the next day. The next day God sent a man from Orlando, Florida, to our service. He said, ‘What this young man is telling you about this morning, that identical vision I saw. For several hours I cried and I wept.’ He said, ‘I couldn’t stand it. I asked the Lord to remove it from me. I saw cities, I saw people crying in a terrible state of desperation at the wrath of God coming upon the cities.’ Well, this really shook me, you know. I thought, ‘Goodness, the next day already I hear one that had nothing to do with it in our own town but in another city 160 miles away.’ Three days later I received an air mail letter from the country of Haiti, describing a vision and it was the same night, the same time. And they told us about the vision that came upon them. Several of them had it the same night. One of the missionaries couldn’t sleep all night long. The Holy Spirit was just speaking to him and telling him what’s coming to pass. And the other one had [a] vision of the judgments coming upon the earth. In fact, one of them saw unusual things. They saw people that were being destroyed, and they saw another people with those people that were not being harmed. They saw a people that were seemingly hid away. But they were amongst the tribulation, but they were hid away–they were not being affected by it. Then they saw still a third party of people that were right in amongst those that were being in this state of terrible sorrow and tribulation, and crying for help. And they heard a voice cry out and say, ‘how come *you* are not affected by this?’ Because they saw they weren’t being hurt at all. They said, ‘because we are the children of God and have already overcome the world and the powers of the world.’ Now this was written in this letter that came from Haiti to us. I still have a copy of that letter; I think I have it written in this particular leaflet entitled, ‘God Spoke,’ which hundreds of thousands of these have been printed already and distributed all over the U.S. and Canada and many countries of the world (this little story I’m telling you now). But anyway, then I received a third confirmation of this . . . He was weeping and crying. And he said, ‘what brother Derstine is telling you about, the same thing happened to me that same day–that same morning.’ So in just seven days’ time I had the confirmation of at least three other people beside our own experience that happened, and I was satisfied. I knew that God spoke. . . . I believe that we are going to see a manifestation of the presence of God and God’s presence. It’s going to produce either of the two reactions. The presence of God is going to produce His wrath, His fire, consuming fire of judgment is going to burn and bring to pass the condition that will cause man to want to receive Him. However, there’s going to be many a man that’s going to reject Him and this fire is going to consume them, and they’ll never be saved, but it’s other people that are going to be ready to receive Him. The greatest revival is going to come at that last day. God’s not dealing today with the masses as yet. He’s only dealing with a people known as the ecclesia, the Church. He’s going to have a people from every kindred, nation, tongue, and tribe, from all over the world that are going to be those that are going to rule and reign with Him in His kingdom. Always remember, in a kingdom there’s a king, and there’s the ruling class, then there’s the subjects that are going to be ruled over. And God speaks of His kingdom being set up on this earth. Now I know that some people are looking for a better day. They say, ‘Well, don’t you believe that we’re not going to have to go through any of these tribulations?’ Well, there was a day I used to believe that very strongly, because I was taught that way. But since I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, God has been showing us, and revealing to us that the object of tests and trials, and tribulation (and another word for tribulation is pressures), the object of pressures is to perfect us, to refine us and purify us. If a thing [is] purified, that part of us that’s being hurt and affected, will be removed. Which means only the pure is remaining. And so why do we have to go away to some other location to escape the troubles if we’ll accept the tests and trials now for the real purpose they’re given to us? I can’t help but feel that if any man had a real rapture, it was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were thrown in the fiery furnace, I would say that if anybody experienced a rapture, they sure did. Why do you say that? Because when they were thrown into that hot, fiery furnace, they were thrown right into the lap of Jesus. That was on this earth. Because of their faith in God, and they refused to bow to the idols of this world. They refused to bow, and therefore when they were thrown into the fiery furnace (they were already purified you see), they were already thrown into the arms of Jesus and they were in heavenly places. . . . Could it be that maybe this is why God is perfecting a people from every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue, that when the great holocaust comes, and the troubles come, there will be a people in every nation, tribe and tongue that are going to know their God as a consuming fire that has already dealt with them and the love him and as a result of their loving Him, these other people will see the Christ, will see the true living God, and will want that God in the end. As far as I am concerned, I know that God is able to keep us in the midst, and I call that a rapture, when you’re able to be kept in the midst of trouble. Religious people, Christian people are not knowing it, because they have been taught by teachers it’s going to be this way, and they are still waiting for it to come to pass according to the way their eyes can see it.”
rmriss 