A Coming Revival?
“How long can a nation keep its character after it has ceased to care for its own soul?”
I read this thought in a National Message editorial that reflected on the fact that God is no longer part of the daily life of the British nation. On my recent visit to England, I could see that this is indeed so, but, sadly, the same can be said of all the Israel nations. We have ceased to care for our own souls. What made us great in our heyday is no longer our focus and as a result, we find ourselves on the slippery slope to judgment. Just look at America, can we equate the great number of floods, fires, inter-city violence, including an astonishing number of murders, growing terrorist threats and actions and all kinds of other disasters to His judgment. Certainly most in our nations have turned their back on God Almighty.
And so, today’s Israel nations; who in the past were perhaps never quite fully in tune with God, but were close enough to merit those immense blessings of Deuteronomy 28:1-14, were the envy of the world.
Great blessings from God! Like coming out on top of every military encounter with enemy nations. Yet, can we say this of the Korean conflict, or Vietnam, Iraq 1, Iraq 2, Afghanistan, the ISIS debacle or the numerous smaller conflicts. In the past century, we’ve found the way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by snubbing Christ. Even when it appears we are on the winning side, time has shown that our enemies end up financially better off and we end up holding the bag, like America with its twenty trillion dollars in debt, as a result of trying to be the world’s policeman.
Or a great blessing like coming out on top of every commercial encounter with other nations. But, what can we say when today we are losing millions of jobs and thousands of industries through transfers to Asia, Mexico, India and elsewhere. We are the nations that refuse to hearken unto the Commandments the Lord prescribed, and so, it signifies the loss of God’s special presence and favour”.
And what about the abundance of prosperity we were promised by following God’s Laws, “are the millions of poor in our lands, the staggering unemployment and the financial bondage our just deserts.”
I could go on and on, but just one more. Deuteronomy 28:10 says, “And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee”. Does anyone looking in at our nations really believe we have a close relationship with the Lord? It would be difficult for them to accept that God made a covenant with us. As to the fear Factor, when we were young and two boys were sizing up one another, one might place a chip or small piece of wood on his shoulder and dare the other boy to knock it off. If he did, then the first boy had to act, unless he was a little afraid and placed the chip again on his shoulder. That’s not unlike the American President’s “red line” on Syria, it was knocked it off, so to speak, but America didn’t react. And so antagonistic nations don’t seem to be afraid of America anymore. But it’s just not America, the Israel nations collectively have become the great compromisers and instead of a healthy fear, nations around the world see us as toothless tigers.
Sadly, without the Lord, we are akin to losers. Somehow, we have to return and begin to obey God’s Law if we are to restore our former glory. Many, including some in our movement, believe a revival is coming and that will be the answer. Perhaps! In the same National Message article published over sixty years ago, Reverend Billy Graham, while on a crusade in England, declared, “I am absolutely convinced that unless Britain has a spiritual revival the entire Western world is in peril. Only a religious revival; can give the English people the moral integrity and stability to stand with us [America] in the days to come. Millions in Britain are outside the Church and have no religious convictions whatsoever.” Well, that revival didn’t come about and there seems less chance of it happening now than then. But, it could! Still, I think, only if there is an event or events that affect each and every Israelite. I could see this happening if an economic collapse came upon us, which, in turn, might trigger the invasion of Ezekiel 38. But there has to be something to collectively encourage us to our knees. A bright spot is God’s Words in Hosea 5:15 where He said He would return to His place until Israel acknowledges their offence.
But, he added, “in their affliction they will seek me early”.
Let’s hope that day comes soon. I can’t help but believe the end of the 15 years at the fall equinox of 2016 [September 22nd] must mean something in Bible prophecy. We will just have to watch closely.
