by George Sidney Hurd

The following is an excerpt from my book Focusing in on End Time Events.

God saved the best for last, not because the final generation is more worthy, but rather because His revelation goes from glory to glory. The early Church experienced a new level of glory, with many more mighty miracles, signs, and wonders being manifested through them than any prior generation. It was not because they were more worthy than prior generations, but rather because the outworking of God’s purposes takes each generation to a new level of glory. We will continue to be in awe of God throughout all the ages as He takes us from glory to glory.

We should not think that the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ will be greater in glory than the consummation, when she will be prepared to be united with Him in the marriage feast of the Lamb. We are now the temple and habitation of the Lord, and the latter glory of this temple will be greater than the former as this age comes to a close (Hag 2:9).

While it is a great privilege to have been born for such a time as this, in order to be chosen vessels that will be able to carry His glory to the nations, we must allow ourselves to be prepared as vessels of honor fit for the Master’s use (2 Tim 2:21). Jesus said to His disciples that they were already clean because of the word which He had spoken to them (John 15:3). Not all of God’s people living at that time were prepared to receive that which was to commence on the day of Pentecost. In the same manner, not all of God’s people in this generation are prepared to be on the cutting edge of what God is about to do in the day of His power. Yet, He has a people who have responded to His call—whom He has led into the desert where they have learned to hear His voice and develop intimacy with Him.

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. And it shall be, in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master’.” (Hos 2:14-16)

The Lord takes us into the desert when we still trust in our own strength and are full of our own ways, and we come out with His strength, beholding Him in Zion. He allures us (seduces us) with a promise of what lies ahead for us; He gives us a vision, allowing us to see the end, but we usually don’t see the valley of tears—the desert that lies between the promise and its fulfillment. We see the kairos fulfillment in the distant mountain peak but don’t see the extent of the chronos where we must wait upon Him in a place that seems a contradiction to everything He showed us from the mountain peak. [i]  But even as Job said after passing through the valley of tears, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You,” we will likewise come out of that valley knowing God in a way that would have never been possible before passing through it:

“Blessed is the man who finds his strength in you, in whose heart is your ways. Passing through the valley of tears it becomes a fountain, when the rain fills the pools. They will go from strength to strength; they will see God in Zion.” (Ps 84:5-7 RVR)

The Lord has been saving the best wine for last. He is preparing a feast for the nations, and His people—rightly prepared for this specific day and hour—will have the great privilege of becoming the Lord’s vintage wine for this grand banquet:

“And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.” (Isa 25:6)

Many who have sidestepped this process seem to have had great ministries. However, many of their ministries have been discredited by moral failure, excesses, arrogance and pride. In that day, many who are now first shall be last, and those who are last will be first.  God’s prepared people have followed the Lord in obscurity and weakness, dying to the flesh in all of its subtle manifestations, until the time appointed by the Father. In that day those who have waited upon the Lord will mount up with wings as eagles; the people who know their God will become strong and do great exploits (Dan 11:32).

Come, and let us return to the Lord;

For He has torn, but He will heal us;

He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

After two days He will revive us;

On the third day He will raise us up,

That we may live in His sight.

Hosea 6:1-2

In Hosea 6:2, we see that the Lord has a three-stage process by which He prepares us for His service. In order to arrive at day three, when we enter into an open-faced relationship with the Lord, we must first go through day one and day two. On day one, we receive the revelation in which the Lord reveals to us what He is going to do through our lives. Day two is the time of preparation in the desert, where our circumstances seem to be a contradiction of everything that the Lord revealed He would do through us in day one. Day three is the day of manifestation—a time determined by the Father, when day two has done its work in us and we are ready to walk in the fullness of our calling. We can see this three-day process in Isaiah 49:

“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me. And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified’."

“Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God’."

“And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength).” (Isa 49:1-5)

On day one, we see that the Lord promises that He will be glorified in us. Then on day two, instead of revealing His glory through us as we are anticipating, we are hidden; no one knows of the calling on our lives except ourselves. On day two, we strive in vain to fulfill our calling in our own strength until we come to an end of ourselves. But while we recognize that our fleshly efforts cannot bring the promise to fulfillment, we continue to hope in the promise, “Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord and my work with my God.”

Then the word “now” introduces us to the third day when the promise is fulfilled: “I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.” The Lord first promises that He will be glorified in us. Then He hides us while all self-confidence dies out. Then at the time determined by the Father (not when we feel ready)—the kairos moment, the “now” moment of God—His glory arises upon us and He is glorified in us.

Many have insisted upon passing from day one to day three without submitting to the Lord’s dealings in day two. However, without passing through the dying and maturing process of day two, we will not be able to carry the level of anointing that the Lord has destined for us. It seems that many anointed ministers have failed because they insisted upon a day three anointing without passing through day two. Ultimately, only those who have been stripped of self-confidence and at the same time grown in God-confidence will be able to manifest the unmitigated glory of the Lord in the day of His power without taking glory to themselves.

Many who have been shown that arriving at day three necessitates the process of death to self in day two have, in all sincerity, asked the Lord not to stay His hand until day two completes its work in them—without truly comprehending the suffering, the sense of failure, and the delay involved. Much as in the comical situation of the man who asked the Lord to remove all evil from him and then suddenly disappeared, we also fail to comprehend how deeply rooted self is within every fiber of our being. Alexander McLaren said: “The pathway of spiritual progress will be marked by the bloody footprints of wounded self-love.” While there are many detours we will be tempted to take along the pathway, there are no shortcuts to becoming what God has called us to be.

Having lived in California’s Napa and Sonoma wine country for many years, I am somewhat familiar with the process necessary to make fine wines, and it serves as a marvelous analogy of the preparation necessary to bring the sons of God to maturity. New wine, or “must,” was made in a relatively short time, although it continued to be called new wine several months after pressing.

This can be seen on the day of Pentecost when the mockers attributed the behavior of the 120 believers to being filled with new wine. The feast of Pentecost is eight months after the grape harvest when the wine is pressed. Though new wine was not processed, a natural fermentation took place.

That is why, on the day of Pentecost, they were said to be drunk on new wine or “must.” Peter’s response, “These are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only nine o’clock in the morning,” would have been unnecessary if the new wine was non-alcoholic. But Jesus also made it clear that new wine was inferior to old vintage wine that had been processed when He said: “No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better’.” Fine wine—purified wine—is wine which has been taken through a long and careful process.

First, the grape clusters must be harvested at their prime, with just the right natural sugar content. They are then transferred to the winepress to be crushed, separating the “must” from its lees (skins, seeds, and sediment). This mirrors what Joseph experienced when he was thrown into a pit after dreaming of his destiny. We, too, are often bewildered when we feel crushed and bruised. Instead of stepping into the destiny revealed in a heavenly vision, we find ourselves rejected and trampled upon.

Moses, at his peak, believed he was ready to fulfill his destiny as a deliverer for God’s people; in reality, the Lord’s process of preparing him had only just begun.

After the winemaker separates the “must” from the lees in the wine press, the lees are added once again to the “must” in large vats. The “must” is left on the lees, which are frequently submerged until the right color, flavor, and fermentation are achieved. The amount of time the wine is left on the lees depends upon the specific results the winemaker is seeking. If the winemaker wants a sweet wine, he will separate it from the lees and bottle it before all the sugars have been converted to alcohol. If he wants to make a dry wine, he will allow it to stand on its lees until all the sugars have turned into alcohol.

After being crushed, we often feel that the process is over and we are now ready to enter into our destiny, only to experience what appears to be a major setback—a reversal of the process we thought was nearing completion. When we are pressed in the winepress of God, becoming “must,” we take consolation in the expectation that we will now be ready to be served at the Master’s table, only to discover that the process has just begun. In order to produce a fine wine, the “must” has to be mixed again with its own dregs or lees. Adam Clark, in his commentary, says concerning this process:

“All recent wines…ought to be kept on their lees for a certain time, which greatly contributes to increase their strength and flavour. Whenever this first fermentation has been deficient, they will retain a more rich and sweet taste than is natural to them in a recent true vinous state; and unless further fermentation is promoted by their lying longer on their own lees, they will never attain their genuine strength and flavour, but run into repeated and ineffectual fermentations, and soon degenerate into a liquor of an acetous kind.” [ii]

The crushing reveals the flesh—the flesh that was always intrinsic to us but was only made evident by the extreme pressure of the winepress. We expected that the separation that took place in the winepress was the end of the matter, only to find ourselves more aware of our flesh than ever. This stage is comparable to Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7, where he cries out in verse 19: “The good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” There, left to struggle with the lees of sin in our members, we cry out with Paul: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (7:24). After a time in this state, we die out to all confidence in the flesh.

While it is necessary that the wine be left on its lees for the right amount of time, if it is left that way too long, it will become bitter. It is said of Moab in Jeremiah 48:11 that he was left on his lees, resulting in the taste of self remaining in him:

“Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.”

If the wine remains for too much time on its lees, it becomes bitter in taste and the aroma is of decomposition. Instead of emitting the full-bodied flavor and the aroma of Christ, we have the taste and smell of flesh. I always liked the aroma of fermenting wine on its lees, but it is the smell of decomposition and not the aroma of something desirable to drink.

When the time is right, the wine is separated from the lees and passed from vessel to vessel in a dark cellar, allowing time for sediment to settle to the bottom each time. This continues until the wine appears clear when held up to the sun in a wine glass. It is often stored in oak or hickory barrels, which give it a subtly distinct flavor.

Each time our vessel is uncorked, we think, “Now is the time! I have been patiently waiting here in obscurity, but now the time has come to enter into my destiny.” However, the winemaker fills a glass, holds it up to the light, and then, instead of anointing us for service, He pours us into yet another vessel, corks it, and returns us to that dark cellar. This process repeats itself until we nearly despair of ever being fit for the Master’s use. We find ourselves identifying with the preacher when he says in the first part of Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

But then the moment finally comes when we are not returned to the vessels. Once purified to the winemaker's satisfaction, the wine is poured into bottles, corked, and sealed. While some wines are ready for immediate enjoyment, the finest reds must return to the dark cellar. There, they age until they become full-bodied, developing the rich flavors that make them valuable enough to be reserved for the most special occasions. In this final stage, they may rest on the shelf for up to forty years before reaching their peak of perfection.

The Master Winemaker is preparing the best vintage wine for the final great banquet of the ages. Many who have a high calling on their lives have been hidden away in the dark cellar. While others have been moving in their God-given ministry almost from the start, these have been kept hidden for last. They have patiently waited for the word of the Lord to come to them, for the day of their manifestation as the sons of God. God has kept the best wine for last.

You saints of God who know you have a high calling on your lives but are perplexed because you don’t have an anointing to go with it, take hope because the great banquet is about to be served. Submit to the Lord’s dealings; trust in Him, for in His time He will do it. Remain faithful in little, and He will give you the kingdom. The Lord says, “Have I spoken and will not do it?”

For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come,

It will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:3

The following is an excerpt from my book Focusing in on End Time Events.

[i] Kairos generally refers to an opportune time or season, whereas chronos normally refers to the chronological sequence of time.

[ii] Adam Clarke’s Commentary.   Sir Edward Barry, Observations on the Wines of the Ancients, p. 9, 10.