07/29/2024
Too many preachers today promise us that a great worldwide revival is imminent. They do so to energize their congregants. Such promises are rooted in the tendency of people to assume that all the promises of God found in Scripture in the Old Testament or the New Testament can be claimed by Christians and pertain to them. That assumption is woefully wrong and dangerous. It is dangerous because it conjures up a hope that is false and misleading on the one hand and that results in bad Bible interpretation on the other hand. So the things Christians should be preparing for they don’t; and things that will never occur are what they hang their hats on but to no avail because God never made those promises to them.
Quoting or referencing a Bible passage does not in and of itself constitute support for a statement or teaching made. The proof text for the great revival they use is found in Isaiah 43:18-23-18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”
To be sure the passage is full of hope, but the ones for whom the hope is intended is Israel, not the church. The former things referenced in this passage point to the first time God delivered Israel from Egypt. The new thing promised there has a double fulfillment in view – The more immediate fulfillment was Israel’s return from their exile that happened because they hardened their hearts and failed to repent and turn to God to the point that God turned them into captivity for some time.
The second phase of that “new thing” promise will occur when Christ (well after the rapture) returns to earth to rule over Israel in his millennial reign. In any event, the promise of the “new thing” in Isaiah never has the church in mind nor will the church experience the fulfillment of its promise.
Now consider that the New Testament’s contribution to the content of the Church’s future in the last of the last days offers a dramatically different overview. Jesus when referencing this future time predicts that many false prophets will appear and deceive many… Further, because of the increase of wickedness, the love of many will wax cold Matt 24:10-12. In fact, Jesus goes so far as to wonder if, when he returns, will he find faith in the earth Lk 8:18.
Beyond the earthly ministry of Jesus let us consider what New Testament writers say about the last days. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 - Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, And, in 2 Timothy 3:2 - 3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Finally, consider 2 Thess 2:3 - 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
To be clear, I affirm that Churches that are dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel undergirded by prayer, proper Bible study and evangelism will experience growth. But it is also true that the same kind of Church might not experience the same level of growth through no fault of their own. The true expectation of all believers must be the imminent return of Jesus for his church.
