- The New Wine Skins: Understanding why the methods of the church age are failing in the beginnings of the final age.
- The Laodicean Church Age Conclusion: Examining Howard Pittman’s 1979 near-death experience and the identification of the final church age.
- Prophetic Convergence: How biblical timelines are aligning with secular trajectories that point toward the early 2030s as the possible start of the Millennial Kingdom.
- The End of the Church Age: Evidence that the era of traditional church structures is closing to make way for the Tribulation and then the Millennial Kingdom.
- Exposing the Old Structures: A look at why many modern church pulpits are collapsing and how there is a simultaneous rise of stadium-sized outdoor revivals filled with intensive praise and worship and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
- The Purification of the Air: Why the current quality of praise and worship music is so good and acts as a preparation for the post-tribulation return of Christ.
- Signs of the Antichrist: Reviewing the biblical criteria for the end times, which include but are not limited to the “Man of Lawlessness,” the rebuilding of the Third Temple, and the two witnesses who have a prophetic role found in Revelation 11.
Praise and worship music is not just getting better; it has arrived. It is, in an undisputed way, the best music you can spend your time listening to. I believe it. Praise and worship music once was still developing, at least that is my opinion of it in the early 1980s and early 90s. Music like Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith was good at the time. But now there is no comparison when you listen to contemporary music from groups like Hillsong United, Bethel Music, Elevation Worship, and Maverick City Music that elevate the soul. (By the way, I am not making any comments here about the affiliated churches associated with some of these music groups. I just think the music being produced by these bands is outstanding.) Of course, again, this is just my opinion about the quality of praise and worship music back then compared to what it is now. Why could that be?
Timelines. We are on a timeline. The end of the church age was in the 80s and 90s, and now the end times are either approaching or already here. The shift is supernatural and obvious. The music is ushering in a kingdom no one expects, but it is also bringing a revival to young people that is unprecedented and remains so.
My speculation that the end of the church age is approaching is based on near-death experiences reported by Howard Pittman (Cowart, 2023, October 28). Mr. Pittman was told in 1979 that the church was the “Laodicean” Church. This was a reference to the final church in Revelation, found in chapter 3, verses 14-22. More than just a series of descriptions of churches, these were also a timeline. Mr. Pittman had a near-death experience, and God personally told him this in this incident, 47 years ago. Other sources online also indicate that the church age is closing or already closed; however, they believe that a pre-tribulation rapture is imminent (Moore, 2026, January 19). (Although I wish this were the case, and I personally think that there is zero biblical evidence to support a pre-tribulation rapture view, I do appreciate that others are seeing the urgency in the current age and how it appears to be foreshadowing a soon-to-be return of Christ.)
There is much to glean from the Howard Pittman interview. Again, I infer that the descriptions of the churches in Revelation are also a timeline. Importantly, each church age is also a specific time in church history, beginning in Acts 2 and extending into the present age. We are therefore following his statements: the final church description is in the final church age, or it has just passed or will soon pass. With this transition, I believe that the music mentioned above will grow increasingly powerful as the return of Christ draws near. As heaven approaches our realm, so to speak, the music will symphonically improve to ready the way for the King.
Confirmations of the end times are also coming from secular sources. I note this in “Are We Near the End: A Convergence of Michio Kushi’s 1984 Prophetic-Like Vision of the Future With Bible Prophecy.” Kushi was a secular health and wellness advocate who lectured in the 1980s about the plausibility of early 2030 being the end times for the human race, based on the health and wellness trajectory at the time. In the video, I wrote about in the aforementioned post, Kushi noted the obvious decline in health and wellness, which was even apparent at that time due to processed foods and the overt reliance on the medical industry rather than making nutritional and dietary changes to improve one’s health. The way I see it, all the timelines are converging on the end times, even those outside the biblical understanding of them.
As the church age draws to a close, many churches will collapse. The Prophecy Club ministry prophetically stated this about the coming years. It was said in this ministry that many church pulpits would get chopped up by an axe. This imagery aligns with the growth of revivals on college campuses, in sports stadiums, and at outdoor amphitheaters, where praise-and-worship concerts are held. Simultaneously, many churches have been shut down and continue to close because, again, I think, the church age is coming to an end.
At this point, as scripture says, no one knows the day or the hour for the return of the Lord. So, it could be in 2032 or sooner, but we are left with only speculation. What is known in the Bible is that some criteria are missing, indicating that the end times have not yet concluded. The clues in scripture that I go off of that we have about when He will return in scripture include:
2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 and Matthew 24:15: Describes the “man of lawlessness” (the Antichrist) who must be revealed and will “set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” This false Christ is described as the “abomination of desolation” in Matthew. At this point, the Antichrist has not been identified, nor has a second temple been built.
Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:4–5: “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah,” and will deceive many.'”
Luke 21:10–11: “Then he said to them: ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.'”
1 Timothy 4:1: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
2 Timothy 3:1–3: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy…”
Luke 21:24: “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Zechariah 12:3: “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.”
Revelation 11:3–12: These verses describe two witnesses yet to appear. They are prophetic figures who appear during the Tribulation to preach, perform miracles, and pronounce judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth. People will try to harm them, and fire will come from their mouths and devour their enemies. Then, they will be killed, and the world will celebrate their deaths, giving gifts to each other and apparently instituting a holiday.
Revelation 13:13-14: An Antichrist (and we do not know who that is yet) will deceive the nations and do miracles for all to see. This being will also be able to bring fire down from the heavens.
Revelation 13:14-18: There will be a beast, which I assume is the Antichrist, and he will give life to an image. The image then demands that all worship it and take a mark on their right hand or their forehead. If they do not take this mark, they must verbally give homage to this being or else be killed. This is the famed “Mark of the Beast.”
Revelation 15 and 16: There will be plagues and vials of wrath poured out on humanity. They are judgments on the societies and the nations.
Revelation 18: A mystery Babylon must be identified and judged. This nation will fall, and all the world will observe this quick desolation.
This is a short list of biblical descriptions that offer insight into the nuances of future history yet to unfold. There are additional events that must occur before Jesus’ triumphant return. Importantly, there are additional items on the list that I did not include. Nevertheless, until these events unfold, the end cannot occur. But from where we are to the end, it could all happen in a quick succession and perhaps even in one short season.
As Jesus said in Matthew 9:17, you cannot put new wine into old wineskins. This means you can’t put old into new. It isn’t intended to be mixed that way. In application, if the church age is really over, using the same methods from the church age with this new age is impossible. These attempts will fail. I also think that in the same way, churches from the church age are collapsing. Pastors are being exposed for fraud and other criminal actions. This is all part of the unraveling of the church age and entering into the new and final age, the tribulation age, and the return of Christ. And, as mentioned above, I feel that praise and worship music is the best music out there, because of the age we are in. The rationale for why I think it is the best is that heaven and earth are converging in the near term, and therefore, the air is being purified for Christ’s post-tribulation return.
The shift we are witnessing, a literal collapse of old church structures and the simultaneous elevation of worship music, is not a part of changing cultural trends but evidence of a changing age. When moving from the old Laodicean era into the new dawn of the Tribulation, which I hope unfolds over more than a few lifetimes, the “old wineskins” of traditional church culture and the institution of the church must naturally end to make way for the “new wine” of revival and change. While the specific timing of Christ’s return remains speculation until He returns, the criteria for the end of the age are unfolding quickly, though they have not yet reached completion. As the excellence purifies the air of praise and worship, it serves as the final soundtrack for the return of Christ. Praise and worship music is more than sound; it is a world becoming ready for the King and the movement towards the true Kingdom, now closer than ever before.
References:
Cowart, M. (2023, October 28). Howard Pittman’s near death experience [Video]. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKnwGMG7PHg
Moore, T. (2026, January 19). The church age is about to end. The Christ in Prophecy Journal. https://christinprophecyblog.org/2026/01/the-church-age-is-about-to-end/