The Church and the Great Awakening

Yesterday, I attended a Bible study at my church and this verse, from the passage we studied, sprung out to me:

While it is not a subject I get to talk about much in my forays into the blogosphere, the subject of the Church (the called out ekklesia of God as opposed to church, describing building, organisation etc.) is an incredibly important one and pondering on this text has helped me see a way forward in this day of global craziness and deception and church ineptness, where the evil principalities and powers in heavenly places, who are opposed to God, are causing untold havoc operating through their human minions, who appear unstoppable. But as the Bible teaches, there are good heavenly powers too, who work on behalf of God and His church, and it is these who do much of the stopping when the Church prays in unison and responds.

As I have mentioned a few times in these pages, my own background is Plymouth Brethren, albeit of the Open variety that was neither overtly traditional nor progressive. Even though many among the middle of the road PBs I was associated with were suspicious of those who were not PBs, especially the Liberals and Catholics, they held a high view of the Church (as opposed to church), including our cited text, and were opposed to many practices and beliefs of individual churches, and those seeing their own set ups as being at the centre of what God is doing church wise, but as Paul explains:

Lots have happened to this unprofitable servant of the One dear Apostle Paul sought to proclaim, who encouraged his readers to do likewise. In particular, I have found Christians from all sections of the ecclesiological spectrum (that I refer to as “the Remnant”) who I regard as kindred spirits, not least doing that which Paul urged true believers to do. In my recent “Watchman and Scum; Brethren and Anglican”, I looked around me at a whole range of church related happenings with a mixture of pessimism because I see beliefs and practices aren’t as they should be and optimism because I see the Holy Spirit is at work, and while in recent years I have sometimes felt like one consigned to the Christian version of Coventry by some, notably leaders, in the church, partly over differences in doctrine and partly over differences in opinion on goings on in the world and how the Church should respond, today’s text gives me hope and shows me where my priorities ought to lie.

Writing as I do is one way I can contribute, especially as infirmity limits how much I can do at the coal face. I hope, along with prayer, I can encourage those who can and as Paul says I can be “free to say whatever needs to be said”, especially as a lot that needs to be said isn’t. Some of what I write is straight-forward Bible exposition and some of it is reporting back what I see from watching on the wall. One of my seminal watchman blogs of 2022 was titled “Great Reset Great Awakening and Great Deception”, followed up in 2023 with “Great Awakening; Great Reset; Great Deception; Climate Emergency; Covid Plandemic”. I mention Climate Emergency and Covid Plandemic as these are two subjects that deceive even the very elect (and there are plenty of other topics) and all play into Satan’s divide and rule strategy.

I am of the view that the Great Reset, the Great Awakening and the Great Deception are all being played out in the world, even as I write, and while I look forward to the coming of the Messiah (Jesus) to sort it out with His millennial kingdom, I suspect we are in for more nefarious activity on Planet Earth, if for no other reason the Antichrist (reference Revelation 13) has yet to appear. But I take heart from the text that arose in yesterday’s Bible study, because while many righteously indignant souls try to oppose the extensive evil they see being played out in the world, especially those who are hoping for a Great Awakening as opposed to the more sinister Great Reset pushed by the globalist elite, this verse tells us it is in that mystery that our hope truly lies, just as I see it in Jesus’ High Priestly prayer (John 17) and in a hymn sung at my wedding.