Does God Need to Rend the Heavens and Come Down?

How many times have you heard people pray Isaiah 64:1—Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! This would be akin to asking for another Pentecost or crying out for revival. Without question, I have prayed similar prayers over the years, desperate to see the power, purpose and Presence of the Acts church restored in our day.

So, what's the problem with this? While the desire is pure and legitimate, the prayer has actually been fulfilled. Isaiah was offering up a prophetic prayer, yearning to experience a consistent habitation of God's Presence. With Isaiah being the prophet that he was, he surely caught a glimpse (as prophets do) of another day—a day, an hour, an era where the habitation of God's Presence would be a consistent reality, not merely a hope.

Old Testament prophets experienced these prophetic foretastes time after time. Joel foresaw a day when the Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh and all, young and old, would prophesy (see Joel 2:28). Ezekiel saw a time when the face of God would no longer be hidden from His people and His Spirit would be poured out (see Ezekiel 39:29). He also spoke of a forthcoming period where people would not only become inhabited by the Spirit, but their very hearts would be supernaturally transformed by His Presence (see Ezekiel 36:26). Isaiah saw a generational momentum, where descendants and offspring would experience the Spirit's outpouring in a sustained measure (see Isaiah 44:3, Acts 2:39).

These are just a sampling of the Old Testament prophecies that pointed to the glorious day that Jesus would inaugurate.