Shaking The Nations

The shaking of the natural world with heatwaves, droughts, storms and plagues

drought uk Over the years I have repeatedly felt led to refer to a striking prophecy recounted in the short Old Testament book of Haggai, predicting that very soon God would initiate a great shaking of the nations and the world of nature (Haggai 2: 6-7).

That prophecy is repeated in the New Testament in Hebrews 12. It foretells a time coming when God will intervene in world history and shake all things of human creation, leaving only those things that are of eternal value in terms of the kingdom of God upon earth.

Hebrews 12 includes an explanation linking it to the coming kingdom of God which makes it of great significance. As far as I am aware this is the only Old Testament prophecy to be repeated in the New Testament, thereby being unfulfilled at the end of the apostolic age because Hebrews was one of the last books to be written.

The Unique Value of Hebrews

Hebrews is a book of immense spiritual depth and scholars recognise it as the most beautiful Greek prose in the New Testament. It was probably written around 85 or 90 A.D. some 30 years after the death of Paul – it certainly was not written by him.

Nobody knows who wrote it but some biblical scholars (including myself) believe that Hebrews was written by Priscilla, although clearly someone has added a little epilogue of three or four verses at the end to make it look as though it was written by Paul. But the entire style of the Greek text is totally different from anything that Paul wrote.

Hebrews 12 foretells a time coming when God will intervene in world history and shake all things of human creation, leaving only those things that are of eternal value in terms of the kingdom of God upon earth.

It is quite likely that Hebrews 13:18 is a reference to Aquila and Priscilla being forced to leave Rome due to the edict of Claudius in 49 A.D. driving all Jews out of Rome as referred to in Acts 18:2.

Acts 18 and 19 show that Paul spent considerable time with Priscilla and Aquila, and Paul even acknowledges that they actually saved his life (Rom 16:3). Of course, we cannot know for certain that Priscilla wrote Hebrews but I believe there is good evidence that it came from the pen of Aquila and Priscilla. She was undoubtedly the leading teacher and they were hoping to return to their home in Rome as referred to in Hebrews 13:18.

This would make Hebrews the only book in the New Testament to be written by a woman – which is probably another reason why a later (male!) editor added the last three or four verses to make it acceptable to men!

International Gathering

Returning to the prophecy contained in Haggai 2, in 1986, an international gathering of 150 Christian leaders with prophetic ministries met on Mount Carmel in Israel for a week to seek the word of the Lord on what was happening in the world today. We were led to the Haggai prophecy referred to above stating that very soon God would initiate a great shaking of the nations and the world of nature.

In so doing God will shake the whole natural world of creation with heatwaves, droughts, storms, and plagues of old and new diseases.

It will not be long before there will come upon the world a time of unparalleled upheavals and turmoil. Do not fear for it is I the Lord who am shaking all things.

This was prophesied at Mount Carmel in 1986 and is beginning to be fulfilled today, as we can see every day on our television news and in our newspapers.

Prophecy

During the conference on Mount Carmel, Lance Lambert received a word that we all agreed summarised what we were hearing from God. The first paragraph was:

“It will not be long before there will come upon the world a time of unparalleled upheavals and turmoil. Do not fear for it is I the Lord who am shaking all things. I began this shaking with the First World War and I greatly increased it through the Second World War…It will not only be by war and civil war, by anarchy and terrorism, and by monetary collapses that I will judge the nations, but also by natural disasters; by earthquakes, by shortages and famines, and by old and new plague diseases. I will also judge them by giving them over to their own ways, to lawlessness, to loveless selfishness, to delusions and to believing a lie, to false religion and an apostate church, even to a Christianity without me.”

Wildfires and Drought

During this summer we have seen most of Europe suffering from wildfires due to extreme heat. In Britain the heat has caused premature harvest and most fields of wheat had been harvested by the end of July – some two months early. The grass has not grown so the cattle have been fed with winter feed, leaving farmers afraid for what they will do in the winter months. The lack of rain in many parts of Britain and Europe has brought drought and severe water shortage to many households.

Is there no prophetic voice in the Church today?

Silent Church

What have we heard from church leaders in Britain? – Nothing! Why is there no word from the Lord from His Church? Why has the Archbishop, and all the other bishops remained silent? Is there no prophetic voice in the Church today?

Warning to Humanity

If the things that we are seeing today had happened in biblical times, the prophets would be declaring the word of God to the people. But God expects His Church to be the prophet to the nation.

God is clearly warning humanity of great danger that lies ahead. The direction of human activity and modern technology will lead to ultimate disaster for the world unless there is a change of direction. In a world of unstable nations armed with weapons of mass destruction, they could destroy all life upon earth – God’s precious creation.

Through the shaking of the natural creation God is warning us of great danger and calling humanity to change direction in order to save the planet. The situation is so serious that God is acting to save His creation. This is what we are seeing today. Surely, this is the time when church leaders should be declaring the word of the Lord to the nations.

Rev Dr Clifford Hill (MA. BD. PhD)

Rev Dr Clifford Hill (MA. BD. PhD), 28/08/2026

Feedback:

	Peter Morrow (Guest)	03/09/2026 18:32
Yes; and if you read the verses both before and after the one you have quoted, they all relate to Jesus: He is the vine; We are to remain in Him; He loves us; He died for us (greater love); He chose us; The world hates us because of Him; The world hated Jesus and the Father; This fulfilled the Law; And the promised Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus. This is what God is doing in our time, and this is how we evangelise.
	Michael Petek	03/09/2026 18:04
We read at John:15:15 "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." Servants only take orders. They do not know the larger plans or reasons behind what the master asks them to do. Friends do. God is inviting us to look and see what He is doing in our time, as this is revealed in the timing of events in the 20th century. Perhaps not for our benefit, but as a means of evangelising others into the kingdom.
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	03/09/2026 17:37
Hi Michael. It could be that we are missing each other's perspective - I'm not reading your comments as scoring "denominational points", and I have no desire to score points either. What I'm saying is that the Bible calls us to understand this world through the lens of Jesus; and that the nations will be judged on their response to Christ - all of us will. And if that (as I believe it does) includes our response to Israel due to the plan that God has already revealed to us, then yes, Israel is involved. But we don't need any 'proofs' of this - the things that 'prove' or confirm to God's people that God's plan of salvation for Israel and the world are guaranteed are the death, and more specifically, the resurrection of Jesus. And the things that demonstrate the rebellion of the nations of the world is their response to Christ. It is these things to which Paul and the other apostles referred; not the contemporary events of their day; or the coincidence of dates: it was Christ Whom Paul announced to the Roman Empire. But it's as if this isn't enough for the modern Church. And I will be so bold as to say this: if the prophecies about judgement are correct - if Pete Greig's recent 'prepare for war' prophecy is correct - and if these really are the days (and they may well be) during which the nations turn will on Israel and the Church, then no amount of being able to read the "signs of the times"; insight into coinciding dates; or belief that Mary is the Mother of Israel will be sufficient for us to stand. They prove nothing, and in my view have become a distraction for Jesus and His Gospel. There is one thing of value and one only: Christ, and faith in Him.
	Michael Petek	03/09/2026 14:18
You're missing the point entirely. I'm not here to score "denominational points". I'm inviting readers to look objectively at the coincidence of dates I've outlined and to read them as signs of the times and of God's action in the present. The position of Issachar People and of Prophecy Today before it has been that the nations will be judged on the position they take on Israel. My observations demonstrate that this position or correct.
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	03/09/2026 13:27
Michael, It is not my intention to turn this into a inter-denominational debate; however, everything you have said, and I see no reason to disagree with it, can be said without it having to be true that Mary is the Mother of present day Israel. Christians and Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is Israel's and the world's Messiah, that is the critical point. And I would reiterate that this is where hope and security lies in this present age. The rest: speculation about war, about the aligning of numbers with events, the restoration of a particular gentile nation, what a president may or may not be doing in the middle-east, and the fear that life on earth might be destroyed, is, at best, secondary, to the news of Christ crucified and risen, the provision of forgiveness and salvation, and our future, certain, hope. We can live by one, and that is necessary; the rest, while seeming to take a central stage in Christian discourse, is a distraction.
	Michael Petek	03/09/2026 12:41
I would address your point, Peter, by observing that the fulfilment of Haggai 2 and the shaking of the nations mentioned there and at Hebrews 12 are linked as cause to effect. That fulfilment occurred when Jesus was presented in the Temple at the age of 40 days. The Presentation is celebrated liturgically on 2 February. "When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” This is the only event which could have fulfilled the promise in Haggai 2 that the Lord would fill this house with glory. The effect of that is to cause Mary to be fruitful, as she had been at the Incarnation. Not then and there, but 19 centuries later, when Israel was to be given a share in the new life brought by Jesus Christ. We can understand this as demonstrating in history that the end-time salvation of all Israel is secured, therefore God is able to set aside the punishment of exile and restore the political independence of Israel.
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	03/09/2026 11:03
Hi Michael. My questions about Mary and the assumptions made about Israel were part of a serious point I was trying to make about how Christians might respond in an increasingly unsettled world. Every generation of Christians seems to think they are living during times of trouble, if not the last times themselves, and we might imagine what the circumstances were like, for example, for Christians during the English Civil War; the sack of Rome; or the USSR. Such-like may even come to us - we don't know. What we do know, however, is that not only do we have a message of hope and forgiveness, but also an actual remedy to the problems faced by living in a world that has been 'cast out of the garden': There is a new creation which has already begun. There is victory over death, which has already in part been evidenced in resurrection. There is forgiveness of sins and peace with God. There is a Good and Righteous King Who already reigns above all other power and authority. And there is a community of people, saved by grace, made alive in Christ, and whose future has been guaranteed. This is what God has already done in Jesus, and all things in our own lives, in the circumstances of the world, in the nations, and in eternity are being brought to their conclusion in Christ. And what we are seeing whether in the UK today, or in ancient Rome when Paul planted the first seeds of the true eternal city, is the outworking of God's plan of salvation. It is this that enabled Hebrews 11 to be written, and I'm not sure what else we either want or think is going on, because this is the basis on which we have been called to live our lives, not "as others which have no hope" (1 Thess 4). It is real, it is true, it is being worked out before our very eyes, as it has been in every generation, and it will not fail. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess 4) Beyond that, with regard to your last two paragraphs, I'm afraid that the closest you have come to an explanation is that due to a 9 month gap between "2 February and 2 November" is to assert that Israel was 'born' of Mary. God, however, had already informed Pharaoh, through Moses, that Israel was His first born, and that Pharaoh really ought to let Israel go - the main point being that Israel was already in God's covenant plan of redemption, as we who believe in Christ are in God's covenants plane of redemption, and that God will always succeed. There's far too much fear and speculation doing the rounds.
	Michael Petek	03/09/2026 09:34
What does 2,400 have to do with Israel? 240 is the gematria value of the name Amalek. The number 10 can signify fullness or completeness, possibly that the crimes of Amalek - the genocidal enemy of Israel - reach their full measure in our day. So the State of Israel represents the power of the sword in the hands of Israel for the mitzvah to blot out all remebrance of him under heaven and to wage the war of the Lord against Amalek. What has 1,948 to do with Mary? Abraham was born 1,948 years after the creation of Adam. Jesus Christ is the new Adam. So 1,948 years after his birth - which has a lot to do with Mary - the State of Israel was established. Where Mary comes in is that nine months elapsed from 2 February and 2 November (the Balfour Declaration) so that the nation of Israel was "born" on that date. Mary is thereby the mother of Israel. The emergence of Israel as a state is about 30 years later.
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	02/09/2026 18:50
When God raised Jesus from the day on the morning of the resurrection, it announced the beginning of His new creation. Paul would later describe Jesus as the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" assuring us that "in Christ all will be made alive" (1Cor 15). Paul went on to describe how God had "raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet" (Eph 1) Paul has also written that we are "in Christ" (Phil 1); that "if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" and "has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Cor 5) And the Bible is packed full of this. So I have to say that I'm not understanding the fear; I'm not understanding what 240 x 10 has to do with Israel or what 1,948 has to do with Mary; and I'm not understanding in what way what we will do is going to save this planet or this creation, whenever God has already told us in His Word that He has already done everything necessary for the salvation of the world through the work of His Son on the Cross and by His resurrection. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." The call is as it was, and always will be.
	Michael Petek	01/09/2026 22:50
More from Chat GPT about 2,400 = 240 x 10. 240 represents Amalek; ten represents the completion or full measure, or it could represent judgement - cf. the ten plagues of Egypt; 2,400 therefore symbolically represents Amalek brought to its full measure. Arguably we are living in a season in which the memory of Amalek will be finally blotted out, and this through the agency of Israel, by which the Jews have the power of the sword.
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	31/08/2026 22:58
Yes, that would be correct.
	Michael Petek	31/08/2026 22:52
By definition there is infinitely more truth and power in God that is contained in Holy Writ.
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	31/08/2026 22:00
Perhaps, good sir, but there are also more things in your philosophy than Holy Writ allows.
	Michael Petek	31/08/2026 19:08
Peter, you don't have to be a Shakespeare aficionado to appreciate this: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy". Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 5)
	Peter Morrow (Guest)	31/08/2026 18:53
I must be honest, Michael, I read your comments on this thread and I think, ‘none of this looks remotely like the Christianity I know.’ But maybe it’s me.
	Michael Petek	31/08/2026 12:39
I've just had an interesting discussion with Chat GPT. Here's the summary. Christ, the New Adam, begins a new 1,948-year chronological period corresponding to the 1,948 years from Adam to Abraham. The Nativity falls sufficiently early - potentially around 7 BC - to place the corresponding 1,948th year around 1942, which we hypothesise as the year when the State of Israel should have been established. The Second World War interrupts the historical process for approximately five years and eight months. When the "clock" resumes, the resulting date falls in 1947-48, culminating in the establishment of the State of Israel. The exact backward calculation from 14 May 1948 reaches 22 August 7 BC, which is also the year of a major proposed Star-of-Bethlehem phenomenon and is now the Catholic feast of Our Lady Mother and Queen - eight days after the Solemnity of the Assumption on 15 August.
	Michael Petek	30/08/2026 17:55
Hanukkah and Purim weren't legislated for by God, they were legislated for, legitimately, by the pastors of the Jewish community. The difference between these and the divine festivals is that Jews must not work on these - but Hanukkah and Purim are regular working days. The purpose of any festival is the preservation and transmission of the collective memory of the people - in the Church this is reflected in the public liturgy of the day.
	Douglas (Guest)	30/08/2026 17:28
Well, there is no instruction in Scripture to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus every year, so we know that Christmas doesn’t come from God, and it isn’t mentioned in Acts so wasn’t observed by the early church. And Sol Invictus marked the lengthening days after the winter solstice, so has nothing to do with the Lord Jesus’s ministry.
	Michael Petek	29/08/2026 18:52
How do you know that the Christians were imitating the pagan feast of Sol Invictus, rather than the pagans imitating Christmas? Is is a pagan (and therefore illicit) practice for Christians to refer to the message about Jesus Christ as an "evangelion" when this was originally a term that belonged to the political, military, and religious vocabulary if pagan Rome?
	Douglas (Guest)	29/08/2026 13:48
It was the Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun, on 25 December. Nothing to do with the Lord Jesus.
	Douglas (Guest)	29/08/2026 09:27
I’m not sure that God is calling us to act to save the planet. Yes, He speaks through droughts and famine, but His first priority is the salvation of mankind. The attention Christians have given to the environment has been a distraction from the great commission.
	Michael Petek	29/08/2026 09:04
Wrong, Douglas. The nearest pagan festival to Christmas is Saturnalia, which ran from 17th to 23rd December. Nowadays, many Christians celebrate Night of Light on the same day as Halloween - it gives the children something more wholesome to do than to dress up as vampires.
	Douglas (Guest)	28/08/2026 18:06
The 25th December has nothing to do with the birth of the Lord Jesus. It comes from pagan midwinter festivals that Roman Catholicism adopted and has made its way into reformed Christianity as well.
	John Shipton (Guest)	28/08/2026 16:06
There is not only a shaking of the nations but also the Judgement of God taking place. The Labour government running the show at Parliament is facing the consequences in their behaviour and intentions in making changes to which are contrary to biblical standards. Their proposals to increase welfare and supporting LBGT+ issues are just two while misleading folk that they represent the working class in the United Kingdom. When spending which the nation cannot afford and taxation at present does not meet costs and expenditure, the coming Autumn budget does not sound plausible, and if what is forecast, spells out the word called disaster. When the Christian Church in Britain is asleep to the effects of left-wing ideology, overall does not wish to say much, and is accepting false teachings and practices to keep astern, one cannot see revival in the midst. Nor can it be seen anything spiritual such as Repentance and Salvation preached openly and publicly, as church leaderships are divided over sound doctrine, what is said by the Word of God and the instructions behind scripture. For the established church systems are in a quandary and divided on matters of concern. And yet churches are being pulled into different directions while fellowships going their separate ways, into holy huddles and religious and social clubs, scattered in urban and rural areas. It is said that the Jews are not Almighty God's chosen people replaced by the Christian Church whatever denomination they may be. Called Replacement theology! Within the Church, one disturbing factor which lies within, is the teaching that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit died with the last apostle of the New Testament. And a false premise that to be a Christian one does not have to be born-again which Christ instructs. Then of course, now that the Roman Catholic Church has become acceptable as part and parcel of the modern western Christian church, the adoration and the worship of Mary, together with her craven image, is being swept under the carpet despite its idolatry. When religious people are blaming the nation of Israel for the Middle East war, and joining in the chorus supporting the Palestinian cause which Hamas and Hezbollah are at the helm calling for the destruction of Israel, the Church of England hierarchy is not much better when the female Archbishop of Canterbury turns a blind eye to such matters, anti Semitism appears to have taken a stranglehold from within. However, until the wake up call is heeded, both the Christian Church and our nation will remain under the Judgement of God. For Repentance and Salvation needs to be given not only from pulpits but said openly and publicly by those following the Lord Jesus Christ, despite the threat of persecution of standing up and being counted. For what Clifford Hill has shared, should be taken on board. Praise the Lord!
	john (Guest)	28/08/2026 11:49
Is 26:16 "Lord they came to you in their distress..", Hosea 5:15 "In their distress (speaking to both houses of Israel) they will earnestly seek me". Jesus taught that just before his coming the people of the earth will in anguish, be perplexed at events and in terror (Luke 21:35-37). Because God is bringing about a new age, the old systems , political, economic and religious, are all going to be shaken, the Western world is not how God will rule the world or any other system in the world. Nor how the Church is organised is his way. So all that is happening, the distressful events, i believe we will continue to see it increase like birth pangs but this will also cause the darkness among his people to be shaken, so at least a few seek God intensely because of the depth distress they are experiencing. It is like the drug addict who often has to reach rock bottom before they look to change. It will be the mercy of God that will accelerate the distress, so the distress may be intense but also cut short. Dr Hill may be looking to Church leaders to bring the prophetic word to the Church but we know when Jesus inaugurated a new age in the first century the religious authorities wanted to kill him. It was the outsiders, the small prophetic movement of John The Baptist that was the prophetic voice. It is those coming from the desert who will have the true Word of God for this generation. God chooses the foolish and the weak and the despised to nullify the things that are. The deep shaking that the worldwide Church will face in the coming years will mean it will re-emerge in a different place completely. The heart of God is not judgement at this time, it is restoration, he desires to draw his people close, after Noah went through the flood to a new age he offered himself fully to God in his burnt offering and he moved the heart of God. What should the Church be doing, learning about the new age that God is taking us into and laying the foundations for the "new age", it should be a place of refuge and hope for the future. The Church or at least a remnant will need "to see" its true condition and change its course to align with God before all that can happen.
	Michael Petek	27/08/2026 21:31
Thank you, Nick. The significance of 2,400 is that 240 is the gematria value of the consonants that make the name Amalek, the genocidal enemy of Israel. The number 10 signifies divine order and completion.
	Nick Thompson	27/08/2026 20:58
Good evening Michael, I am intrigued with your dating, and would agree with the Esther timing. Would really like to follow it up with you. My email is npdthompson1@gmail.com if you would be willing to engage. God Bless you. Nick
	Michael Petek	27/08/2026 16:37
I have been preoccupied with Haggai chapter 2 as well, but I would relate it to Hebrews 12 like this. The only occasion on which the prophecy at Haggai 2 - that the Lord would fill this house (the Second Temple) could have been fulfilled is the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple where the invisible glory of the Lord was revealed in the prophecy of Simeon to Mary in proportion to her faith. When the power of the Lord overshadowed Mary a first time, the effect was to give life in the Incarnation of God the Son. But on this second time, it had a life-giving effect which was not to be revealed until our time - as though cause and effect were separated in time by nineteen centuries. The liturgical feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple falls forty days after Christmas on 2 February. In 1917 it fell nine months to the day before 2 November, the date of the Balfour Declaration. About thirty years later, on 14 May 1948, the State of Israel declared independence. Abraham was born 1,948 years after the creation of Adam, and he received the promise of the land of Canaan for his offspring at the age of 75. As many years from 1948 takes us to 2023, the year of the 7 October massacre. To refer back to the year 1917, we find that the years 1917 to 1927 are the 2,400th anniversary decade of the events in the story of Esther. In particular, Adolf Hitler published the second volume of Mein Kampf in 1926, the 2,400th anniversary year of Haman's decree for the extermination of the Jews. The period of nine months from 2 February to 2 November 1917 suggests that Jesus has done a great thing for Mary - He has made her in very truth the Mother of Israel - of the nation as such - in preparation for the final salvation of Israel, the ending of the exile, and the restoration of Israel's political independence. When God does a great thing for Mary, Satan acts as the narcissistic toddler he is. He vents all his rage against her, and the effect of that we can see is the raising up - after the manner of King Herod - of the Nazi movement, which held its first public meeting on 24 February 1920, and of Soviet Russia, which legalised abortion on 18 November. A one-two punch, one aimed at the destruction of the Jews, the other at the massacre of the innocents. So, there is the shaking we read of at Hebrews 12.