One of the trials we may face in these last days is satisfying the hunger to see a move of God. True Christians want to see mighty revivals during which souls are saved and people are brought out of their stagnant spiritual condition and into a fiery encounter with God. However, God’s word does not prophesy a great endtimes revival, but rather a great and final apostasy. Thus, the spiritual atmosphere in Christianity that produces apostasy on that large of a scale will be composed of smothering hypocrisy, apathy, lethargy, complacency, flirtation with demon spirits, and rampant sin, etc. There will be no great revival for those deceived individuals, but rather a great delusion.
“Revival is bringing back to life those who are spiritually dead or near dead.”
Consider that God has already poured out His Spirit. If you are a true Christian, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Revival is bringing back to life those who are spiritually dead or near dead. True Christians are always alive in Christ. They do not need revival. It is the stagnant or backsliding ones that need revival. However, millions of them have and are rejecting love for God’s truth and entering the final apostasy. They will not be sent a revival, but a strong delusion (see 2Thess. 2:11).
God’s word does not declare a great endtimes revival, but a great apostasy. The prophesy of a great endtimes revival originated from leaders of the heretical NAR movement. It has been repeated numerous times in the last few decades via “Christian” television and in literature. The result is that it has become a part of Christian folklore. That is the only basis of believing in a great endtimes revival. Many professing Christians have become addicted to the fallacy and, like a child with a fist full of contaminated candy, they refuse to let go. They are gushing with excitement and expectation for what may lure them into the vortex of the great and final deception, delusion, and apostasy.
“…they are looking for exactly what Satan is going to deliver and is in fact delivering.”
The consequences of believing and expecting a great end times revival is becoming susceptible to great and eternally fatal deception. The atmosphere that produces the Antichrist will also produce the False Prophet. Satan is in fact coming with all demonic power, lying signs and wonders, and the full force of all unrighteous deception (2 Thessalonians 2). The Lord Jesus warned us that this deception would be powerful enough to deceive the very elect, if that were possible. It is not possible if one is sober, vigilant, and alert, with the condition of full surrender to God. However, if people are conditioning their minds and spirits for a mighty endtimes revival, they are looking for exactly what Satan is going to deliver and is in fact delivering. They will make themselves susceptible to joining the great endtimes demonic “revival” that will be nothing more than sight and sound show with demonic activity that hyper-stimulates the emotional system. What they ought to be told is to prepare for an unprecedented invasion of extremely dangerous deception that will usher in the Antichrist and the False Prophet.
“The great temptation will be to search for a move of God’s in the strange fire of false revivals.”
Considering the spiritual atmosphere, this may be the time spoken of by Christ, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4) How can there be a great revival in the darkest spiritual period in earth’s history? This will be a great test of the true Christian’s faith. The great temptation will be to search for a move of God’s in the strange fire of false revivals. We should be aware of the fact that demon spirits are at work in those meetings. God’s word declares what our mindset ought to be when we are in the midst of the last days turmoil; “By your patience possess your souls.” (Luke 21:19)
“We should not have to go seeking for Him among the pews or chairs in a building full of people.”
The questions are, can we survive spiritually without seeing a great move of God in the last days? Will our faith remain strong? Will we still have intimacy with and power from Him? I believe that we can not only survive, but grow stronger. The fact is that we walk by faith, not by sight. It is not what we see or feel that governs the stability or strength of our faith. It is what we posses, or are rather possessed by. We are possessed by the Holy Spirit. Because of this we posses His power, wisdom, truth, and we have intimacy with the Father. We should not have to go seeking for Him among the pews or chairs in a building full of people. Further, we should not fall into the trap of believing that we must see mighty signs and wonders in the endtimes or else we are out of the loop of what God is doing.
The prophet Daniel declared, “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32) The term “great exploits” does not connote a great endtimes revival to counter the false revival orchestrated by Satan. It means to “stand firm and take action, firmly oppose and resist”. To be equipped to stand strong and resist, we must have put on the whole armor of God and be submitted fully to Him. (Ephesians 6:10-18, James 4:7)
“The only sign true faith needs is the sign Christ declared would be given.”
If professing Christians are expecting a great endtimes revival, then they are certainly not anticipating an imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, by their doctrine He cannot return until that mighty revival occurs. What if a mighty world-wide revival with great signs and wonders breaks out in spite of the fact that God’s word says it will not occur? Will not many professing Christians be deceived and fall into the vortex of the final apostasy? Concurrently, the wicked grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, the ones that desire to live godly in Christ are suffering persecution, and all the prophetic signs are being fulfilled. Right now, professing Christians by the millions are rejecting God’s truth and running into the arms of heretics and hirelings. I would be a mistake to follow these spiritually blind individuals that seek for signs rather than intimacy with God. Faith that needs to see signs and wonders to survive is not strong faith and will not withstand deception. The only sign true faith needs is the sign Christ declared would be given.
“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39-40)
Can we live by this faith, or must we walk by sight? Do we seek spiritual stimulants for our faith because of our carnal need to “feel” or “see” something? Are we seeking spiritual delirium among the throngs that gather to drink from the broken cisterns of diabolical “revivals”? Or are we grounded and settled in Christ with our hope firmly in God’s truth?
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness,
I dare not truth the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”
(By Edward Mote [1797-1874] who was so admired by his congregation in Horsham, West Sussex that they attempted to give him the church building. Mote replied “I do not want the chapel, I only want the pulpit; and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that.”)
Exactly!!! I keep warning everyone about the same thing. We are in the end times, and the prophecy is for apostasy and not revival. Their neon colored stage light ‘revival’ is just a smokescreen from which the antichrist will emerge and then the false prophet (enter: beast 1 and beast 2). Most will be swept away with it all into the deluge of delusion.
I can also concur that when you are walking uprightly and surrendered to God, you are in a perpetual revival! We experience the fruits of the Spirit and have living waters springing from the eternal well from within our souls from the Holy Spirit! As a result, we love worshipping and are full of love and rejoicing and praise. If anyone feels this lacking, just get on your knees before God and repent and He will refresh you. Sometimes we don’t realize that is the cause. Now these people in the apostasy, it’s like they are so sick they don’t realize they are sick, or so blind they can’t see that they are blind, and such fools they don’t see how foolish they are, and so on. Go to God and He will shine the light for you to see the path you need to be on.
Blessings!
Thank you for this concise description of the so-called “Coming Great Revival.” I’ve been doing a lot of research the past month or so on NAR and word-faith teaching. My women’s Bible study has been infiltrated. Several women follow the news of Mario Murillo and the “revival “ in Sacramento and pray a lot for the great awakening, etc. that’s just around the corner, according to well known “Bible teachers” they follow. I have experienced how easy it is to start buying into some aspects of NAR beliefs, and I’ve been a believer for 39 years! I just want more of Jesus, but I started to seek Him through emotional experience instead of more of His Word. Jesus, in His mercy, got my attention about it. I feel an urgency to confront the heresy that’s no longer just creeping into my Bible study group but is now marching around in it. If you see this message please pray for me to have the Biblical understanding and ability to speak the truth in love to my sisters in Christ. I expect a lot of pushback but I can no longer remain silent.
Yes! This is a great explanation of what is to come. So many are deceived.