Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 6-15-22: Another Great Awakening?

Because there’s so much discussion among Christians that there will be Another Great Awakening that will push back the powers of darkness so that we can reclaim this land in the cultural and societal realms, I thought it might be helpful to look back at the first three Great Awakenings.  As so many like to say: God delivered Nineveh, that extremely wicked Assyrian city, why won’t He likewise deliver us in this day and age?

I’ve tried to point out that times are different now, and that God’s judgment is at hand – in fact, it must come now.  These are two very different perspectives.  Are the optimists right that Christianity will rule the day and that we’ll continue in this world just as we have for the last 2000 years because of another move of God among His people?  Or am I, and others such as Pastor JD Farag, correct when we deliver the extremely pessimistic message – the message of doom and gloom – that God’s wrath is due and the 7-year Tribulation is almost upon us?  And because of what that worldview implies, is it true that Jesus will very soon come in the clouds to snatch His beloved Bride from this hostile world?

What does history tell us?  More importantly, what does the Bible say that we should expect next on God’s divine calendar?

Will it be a time of light or will it be one of darkness?

 

 

Transcript:

Because there’s so much discussion among Christians that there will be Another Great Awakening that will push back the powers of darkness so that we can reclaim this land in the cultural and societal realms, I thought it might be helpful to look back at the first three Great Awakenings.  As so many like to say: God delivered Nineveh, that extremely wicked Assyrian city, why won’t He likewise deliver us in this day and age?

 

I’ve tried to point out that times are different now, and that God’s judgment is at hand – in fact, it must come now.  These are two very different perspectives.  Are the optimists right that Christianity will rule the day and that we’ll continue in this world just as we have for the last 2000 years because of another move of God among His people?  Or am I, and others such as Pastor JD Farag, correct when we deliver the extremely pessimistic message – the message of doom and gloom – that God’s wrath is due and the 7-year Tribulation is almost upon us?  And because of what that worldview implies, is it true that Jesus will very soon come in the clouds to snatch His beloved Bride from this hostile world?

 

What does history tell us?  More importantly, what does the Bible say that we should expect next on God’s divine calendar?

 

Will it be a time of light or will it be one of darkness?

 

We’ll look at this as soon as we pray and read a Scripture.

 

<PRAY>

 

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

 

Will There be Another Great Awakening?

 

Introduction

  • In order to examine this proposition, I thought it would be prudent to provide a brief survey of the first three Great Awakenings
  • To do this, we’ll give a sense of what various sources say about those remarkable periods and also these current times in which we live
  • A Google search turns up numerous articles from Britannica and other historical websites on these awakenings
  • Lately also, I’ve run across a couple other articles that are relevant to this discussion
  • One article is by Leo Hohmann, who I imagine many people are aware of for his Biblically-oriented social commentary, and another by missionary Andrew Brunson, who was imprisoned in Turkey for two years
  • Adding to this is a recent dream by Pastor Dana Coverstone that reflects a difficult truth
  • In addition, since I’ve referenced the book The Fourth Turning on previous occasions, it occurred to me that it would be interesting to consider the suggestion that another Great Awakening could happen today in light of the cycles of history that the book chronicles so well
  • Given the passage from Ecclesiastes I read starting out, that is obviously quite important to our discussion

 

 

1st Great Awakening

  • Britannica tells us that this religious revival occurred in the American colonies in the period roughly between 1720 and the 1740s
  • Society had become more secular and materialistic because of the rise of so-called rational thinking, which attacked faith and the supernatural aspects of Christianity
  • People bought into that and moved away from organized religion
  • Churches became dead and reliance on God became an afterthought
  • Because there were still people of faith, their prayers prompted a conviction of the Holy Spirit, which brought preachers to prominence whose leadership awakened many people
  • These men included Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield
  • One of the prominent aspects of this 1st Great Awakening was a strong inclination toward Calvinism

 

  • Where I think this discussion starts becoming very interesting is when we consider this history lesson in light of the book The Fourth Turning
  • There are four turnings in the overall cycle – called a saeculum – which comprises about 100 years in total
  • Each of the four turnings within that saeculum period has a specific characteristic that is repeated as the cycle repeats
  • Thus every eighty to one hundred years we see:
    • The First Turning, which is a High…think of it as a Spring season where everything is new
    • The Second Turning, which is an Awakening…consider this as Summer where all is glorious
    • The Third Turning, which is an Unraveling…just like Fall, this starts us heading downhill into bad weather
    • The Fourth Turning, which is a Crisis . . . where Winter is upon us and all things take a turn for the worse
  • In the past in talking about this book, I’ve concentrated on the Fourth Turning because from this historical perspective, we are currently in that time period, i.e. the last era of this larger saeculum cycle
  • Typically, each turning is roughly 20-25 years, but can certainly vary in length
  • Note that the Second Turning historically – according to this model – is an Awakening
  • Guess what?
  • The 1st Great Awakening as I described briefly above correlates with the Second Turning, which – as stated a moment ago – is itself an Awakening
  • The authors of the book show that this Second Turning period ran from 1727 to 1746
  • The official period of the 1st Great Awakening as I said previously was determined to be from 1720 to the 1740s – thus you can see the overlap
  • The 1st Great Awakening – this great spiritual revival – occurred during a Second Turning of history
  • Ultimately, following this Second Turning there came a Third Turning where things began going downhill, and then the Fourth Turning in that era came
  • We know that Fourth Turnings are a time of crisis in history
  • The turnings occur because society changes, morals change, and people change
  • New generations arise that have different values
  • But there is a repetitive nature in the way that times change and historical seasons come back around – just as Ecclesiastes says
  • Likewise, people age and new generations replace them, but there is also a similarity as to how they deal with the cycles as their predecessors did despite the differences among them
  • What was the crisis that resulted in that particular Fourth Turning period that eventually followed the 1st Great Awakening?
  • From that Second Turning awakening, the following Fourth Turning led to the American Revolution – this momentous war that resulted in the American colonies gaining their freedom from Britain
  • It was bloody, resulting in a range of combat deaths from over 6,800 to as many as 18,500
  • Smallpox also raged at that time and killed more than 130,000 people
  • Times were pretty dark
  • The end of the war brought about an astounding renewal as our nation was birthed in the following First Turning

 

 

2nd Great Awakening

  • Now let’s move on to this next spiritual rejuvenation that came as night follows day from the First Turning of this season
  • Here Britannica tells us that this religious movement – the 2nd Great Awakening – occurred from about 1795 to 1835
  • The following is a quote describing this era:
  • “The Second Great Awakening marked a fundamental transition in American religious life. Many early American religious groups in the CALVINIST tradition had emphasized the deep depravity of human beings and believed they could only be saved through the grace of God. The new evangelical movement, however, placed greater emphasis on humans’ ability to change their situation for the better. By stressing that individuals could assert their “FREE WILL” in choosing to be saved and by suggesting that salvation was open to all human beings, the Second Great Awakening embraced a more optimistic view of the human condition.”
  • In other words, there was a shift from Calvinism to what is known as Arminianism
  • The difference is that Calvinism is a doctrine of predestination
  • Among other tenets of this doctrine is that God determines who among us goes to heaven and who is destined for hell
  • This is contrary to Arminianism, which essentially says that humanity – created in the image of God (imago dei) – has the ability to freely choose whether to follow God or to reject Him
  • In this teaching, it is we who determine whether or not we will join the Lord for all eternity or choose to spend that time apart from His presence
  • God doesn’t send people to hell
  • They send themselves
  • The outcome of this decision arises from whether we believe that Jesus is God and died for our sins, and that we accept this great gift of salvation that He freely offers us through His shed blood on the cross
  • The most well-known preacher during this revival is Charles Finney
  • Tent revival meetings became popular during this time and evangelicalism rose to greater prominence

 

  • How does this 2nd Great Awakening correlate to the historical cycles outlined in The Fourth Turning book?
  • Not surprisingly, we have overlap to what the authors of the book label as the Transcendental Awakening that occurred in their estimation from 1822 to 1844
  • This also was a Second Turning and a time of significant awareness of both feminism and slavery
  • During this period in Britain, William Wilberforce fought against the slave trade and for its abolition
  • In other words, human rights in relation to Biblical concepts became very important
  • Where did this Second Turning lead?
  • Things went south in the Third Turning and that inevitably led to darker times
  • The Fourth Turning of this era brought the Civil War, i.e. the War Between the States
  • This terrible conflict resulted in the number most often quoted for combat deaths being 620,000 lives lost
  • It is said also that hundreds of thousands of people died of disease
  • What was the resulting First Turning after this terrible time of death and destruction?
  • It brought the Reconstruction era and what is known as the Gilded Age of great economic growth and prosperity

 

 

3rd Great Awakening

  • There was also a 3rd Great Awakening in a Second Turning from the late 19th to early 20th centuries
  • The Gilded Age in this era was ruled by people with great wealth that exploited the common man
  • Gross materialism reigned as industrial activity and corporate growth seized the nation
  • Child labor was common
  • Political corruption was blatant for all to witness
  • The spiritual outcry against these things culminated in the great Pentecostal revival with Azusa Street and the missionary movement, whereby America sent men and women all over the world to preach the Word of God
  • As the times changed and the cycles revolved, the Fourth Turning of that era resulted in the Great Depression and World War 2
  • There’s a consistency here that I want to point out
  • Second Turnings inevitably bring a rise in consciousness
  • As seen in these three periods, that resulted in Christian awakenings
  • However, once those times peaked and passed, Fourth Turnings came which resulted in war

 

 

Another Great Awakening?

  • This brings us to the burning question of this prophecy Update
  • Will there be another Great Awakening at this point in our nation’s history?
  • More importantly: Can there be such an awakening?
  • Just as we did in considering the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Great Awakenings, let’s look at the Second Turning in our recent history that has led to where we are today in the Fourth Turning that we’re currently in the midst of
  • Our Second Turning in this present period occurred in what is known as the Consciousness Revolution that began in about 1964 and stretched to 1984
  • Unlike the prior Second Turnings we considered today, this Second Turning didn’t bring great Christian rebirth – rather it resulted in spiritual awakening far from true Christianity
  • New Age – occult – Eastern religions all rose dramatically
  • It was an awakening – no doubt – but it wasn’t one that brought Christianity to prominence once more
  • The conscience of America wasn’t one that turned toward Jesus Christ
  • Instead, it became one of self with all that these beliefs, i.e. New Age, occult, and Eastern mysticism, brings
  • Feminism, environmentalism, and black power began changing America
  • The integrity of the family was attacked
  • The earth became our god
  • The idea that racism was systemic and our nation was founded as fundamentally unfair became a prevailing idea among many
  • Rebellion became the order of the day, both against the establishment and against the God of the Bible
  • People turned to yoga, Transcendental Meditation, astrology, angelology, enneagrams, Mindfulness, The Secret, Jesus Calling, and so much more that either distorted true Christianity or dismissed it altogether
  • Thus, this Second Turning had a distinct character about it that was quite different from the ones we’ve noted
  • Yet, let’s also recall where those previous Second Turnings led in their eras
  • The Second Turning from the 1st Great Awakening ultimately came to a head in the crisis era of its Fourth Turning with the American Revolution
  • The Second Turning from the 2nd Great Awakening led to the Fourth Turning that resulted in the American Civil War
  • The Second turning from the 3rd Great Awakening led to the Fourth Turning that resulted in the Depression and World War 2
  • All of these prior Second Turnings – after such amazing spiritual revival – headed downhill into a wintery crisis time involving terrible wars

 

  • So, here’s a question for us:
  • If history tells us that indeed we have defined cycles that rotate from First Turnings to Fourth Turnings following the cycle of history every 100 years or so because of the rise and fall and changes in society that are consistent, is it reasonable to predict that we will have Another Great Awakening in our current era?
  • Remember, we’ve already gone through our Second Turning in this current saeculum
  • We saw a rise of spiritual consciousness in the Second Turning of the 1960’s
  • Again, as Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for everything
  • Historically speaking, – looking at these cycles – would you predict that we could effectively have another Second Turning type of period today?
  • Can Second Turnings repeat within a saeculum?
  • In other words, are we in a Fourth Turning now – as we speak – or not?
  • I maintain that we are
  • If so, what is the outcome?
  • There’s surely no repetition of Second Turning outcomes
  • There can’t be because of the cyclical changes in society
  • Thus, the likelihood of Another Great Awakening is nil
  • We might – and I believe we probably will – see some kind of a harvest of souls, but I don’t think it will be widespread and visible in the sense that Great Awakenings of the past were where society actually changed because of them

 

  • Q: Being in a Fourth Turning, what should we expect given that every Fourth Turning results in crisis?
  • A: Obviously, we should anticipate crisis
  • Indeed, we’re experiencing crises on every side
  • I – and many others – have been chronicling the myriad of crises for 2 1/2 years
  • They are seemingly unending and getting worse
  • More than that, what did the prior crises of those past Fourth Turnings after the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Great Awakenings lead to?
  • They brought terrible wars
  • We had our own awakening in this current era
  • The Consciousness Revolution in our Second Turning of this era wasn’t a Godly awakening
  • I think that is extremely relevant to our discussion
  • It turned people further away from the God of the Bible
  • And we’ve seen that . . .
  • Look at the great apostasy that’s occurring
  • Look at how few pastors have a Biblical worldview – less than 50% based on a current survey
  • Look at how few people actually read the Word of God consistently and fully
  • If our current Fourth Turning is – as I maintain – the FINAL Fourth Turning – what might America, and the world see regarding possible war?
  • I believe where we are today takes our nation right into the 7-year Tribulation
  • Indeed, this would be the final throes of our world as we know it prior to the return of Jesus Christ who will make all things right and . . .
  • Here’s the really cool thing – the 2nd Coming of Jesus at the conclusion of this Fourth Turning will lead to . . . another First Turning!
  • And what will that be?
  • It will be the Millennium – the 1,000 years of Christ’s rule and reign on the earth where He breaks this saeculum cycle
  • Talk about a Spring season of hope and righteousness!

 

  • Let’s talk briefly about this current Fourth Turning and why it can’t and won’t result in Another Great Awakening
  • Aside from the lesson of history, we’ve got a major difference in the makeup of our nation than anything in the past
  • A recent article by Leo Hohman discusses this
  • Here are the first two paragraphs of the article:
    • We hear a lot of talk about how the key to “taking back our country” lies in voting and more aggressive political activism, and that we stand on the precipice of defeating the evil if we can just get enough folks to vote the right way.
    • While I agree voting makes up a vital part of our civic responsibility, the political process alone will never pull Western civilization back from the brink of collapse. It’s too late for that and I will attempt to explain why.
  • I completely agree, and the problem is that many – maybe most – of those believing that we’ll have another Great Awakening, think that a major component of it is political
  • In their eyes, we have to battle in the local school boards and the state elections, etc. so that we can win back our nation at the grassroots
  • In my view, this might have worked in the past
  • But our churches abdicated from participating in the public sphere and didn’t speak to the culture
  • As a result, the culture spoke to the churches and rather than being different from the world, they became the world
  • Yes, there are praying people today, but what are perhaps too many praying for?
  • I think they’re praying for a return to the world they’ve always known
  • They want to dig deep roots here
  • They’re praying so that they can remain in this world which Jesus said is NOT our home
  • They’re praying for good Christian people to participate in the political process in order to take back what we’ve ceded to the demonic Left
  • Here again is Leo Hohmann:
    • Because this evil is global and not just national, I believe we are looking at the early stages of the beast system described in Revelation 13: “Who is like the Beast and who can make war against it?”
    • This beast’s tendrils are found everywhere. Not only in the government but in the K-12 schools, in the colleges, in the media, in the workplace, and, sadly, in 90 percent of the churches.
    • So what is the answer? If we can’t vote our way back to a constitutional republic, then what is the answer?
    • The Bible provides the answer.
  • Leo is NOT a pre-Tribulation Rapture believer like I am
  • As a result, he is of the mind that believers have to hunker down and prepare to endure the Tribulation
  • I couldn’t disagree more with that perspective
  • However, he is correct in effectively saying that among other things we need to practice civil disobedience
  • He is correct when he says:
    • In the meantime, we must listen to His voice. Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
  • We DO have to listen more for Jesus
  • More importantly we have to be keeping our eyes on Him rather than the world
  • We must continue to obey the Lord in bringing the Word of God to those who will hear it and to disciple them in the days we have remaining
  • This is the most important work we can be doing – not trying to restore our nation that is too far gone
  • To be cliched: We can’t rearrange the deck chairs of the Titanic and expect that it won’t sink
  • We can’t stick out fingers in the dyke and expect to hold back the flood when water is pouring over the top in a tsunami wave
  • The Deep State – the Beast system – is far too expansive and invasive to think that a couple political victories here and there will change things
  • The nature of man with the way we think is much different than in the past
  • We have no true Christian foundation
  • When we have homosexual and trans pastors prancing in the pulpits holding a worldview obviously counter to that of the Bible . . .
  • When we have social, prosperity, and ecumenical gospels being the primary messages preached . . .
  • When probably 80% or more of those who call themselves Christians don’t read the Bible and truly know God’s Word . . .
  • Where are the spiritual and moral principles for God to even work with among these people?
  • Let’s face it: We’re goners as a nation

 

  • Andrew Brunson was a missionary to Turkey
  • He was falsely accused of being an American spy and terrorist
  • Turkey imprisoned him for two years
  • In the articles I link to on the Rumble page, he describes the fear he experienced and how he got through this trial
  • As a missionary he had prepared as well as he could for this day that he might be persecuted
  • Despite that, he tells that the great pressures he felt were overwhelming
  • Thankfully he had a Bible in prison
  • Regardless, he had a relational crisis with God that only his preparation enabled him to withstand and remain faithful
  • He warns that persecution is coming to America because it must
  • Yet he warns that the vast majority of Christians are not prepared in any way for what is inevitable in this country given our direction
  • Americans don’t even want to hear about persecution
  • I can attest to that
  • I represented and spoke for Voice of the Martyrs for a number of years
  • As time passed, fewer churches wanted me or any other VOM reps to come talk about persecution in the world
  • Here’s what Andrew Brunson says:
    • The hard truth is that God allows His children to suffer persecution, and it can be more difficult than we think. I had an idealistic view of how I would handle intense persecution like imprisonment. And looking back, I think it would have helped me to know how difficult it can be, so that I could adjust my mindset and expectations.
    • I hear some people saying confidently now, “Persecution will be good for us. It will build the church. Bring it on.” We need to be careful not to be over-confident. I say to you again, it can be more difficult than we think, and God’s faithfulness, His help, His grace, may look different than what we would expect.
  • But rather than preparing for such a time, we’re running around trying to win an election or two here and there
  • We’re looking to our own resourcefulness as we gird up for the Tribulation
  • Pastors aren’t talking about persecution, and they’re certainly not preaching about God’s impending judgment
  • I think all this is a critical mistake and mindset
  • People thinking we’ll have another Great Awakening inevitably point to Nineveh following the preaching of Jonah
  • They forget that 100 years later the prophet Nahum prophesied the imminent destruction of Nineveh
  • The city had its revival in Jonah’s day
  • It once more turned away and God brought His wrath upon it
  • Perhaps the prophetic warnings in our day come from the Bible which we all should be reading
  • But we miss them because Bible prophecy is avoided at all costs in our churches
  • Maybe our Jonah revivals were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Great Awakenings
  • Now, the prophetic Word of God says that it’s all downhill from here
  • Judgment is on its way – because God MUST judge to maintain the holiness of His character
  • The Bible is itself the New Testament warning of imminent destruction just like the prophets of the Old Testament were the watchmen who forewarned Israel
  • We can’t hear the watchmen because we don’t read Scripture and take it to heart
  • I believe confirmations of this come from the dreams of Pastor Dana Coverstone
  • Back in September 2020 – two years ago – he had a dream described as Lady Liberty Attacked Dream
  • It was quite graphic with the destruction of the Statue of Liberty
  • The symbolic implication was that our nation would be destroyed, even as this icon of freedom was torn down and drowned in the dream
  • Fast forward to this month – June 2022 – in which Pastor Dana had The Millstone Dream
  • In this vision America was effectively choked by a millstone that was cast into the sea
  • The message remains consistently the same since his dreams began
  • America is seeing its final days
  • Yes, there will be glimmers of hope as faithful pastors and believers pray, hear the Word, and harvest those souls who listen and heed God for their salvation
  • However, the wolves are without and within the church
  • They will not relent until they bring the church and this nation to ruin
  • The message for many months from the Jesus figure in Pastor Dana’s dreams has encouraged God’s people to brace ourselves
  • The implication has always been that things will get worse and we as believers need to be ready for them
  • However, in the Millstone Dream, the message changed dramatically
  • The Jesus figure indicated to Dana that judgment is coming because of the innocent blood shed in this country
  • We’re somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 Million abortions and counting
  • God WILL revenge this!
  • He keeps His Word for blessings and curses
  • Not much time remains
  • Those that know, know this deeply, namely that Jesus is coming soon
  • The Jesus figure in the Dana dream specifically said the following:
  • “It’s too late to start” – Emphasis was on the word START
  • Then he said: “The braced are about to be tested harshly, so lock in place.” – In other words, we who are watching must stand firm on the Word of God
  • Note how this dovetails with the message from Pastor Andrew Brunson
  • Those who have not prepared for persecution will be swept away
  • One cannot prepare once the storm has already arrived
  • Preparation must begin prior to the storm
  • That’s when you put up the hurricane shutters and get your food supplies in order
  • If the storm is upon you, it’s too late for those things
  • This is how it will be for many, many in the church who have dismissed the warning of Bible prophecy in thinking that everything will all pan out in the end – so no need to worry
  • Jesus told us in His Word . . .
  • He is telling us through His messengers: the time is upon us that persecution will soon begin
  • Expect it and hold fast to Jesus in the midst of it
  • We will see many fall by the wayside as the crisis intensifies
  • Things may get quite dark before the Lord takes us out of here
  • However, our destiny is NOT to enter the Tribulation, so all the hardship will be prior to that
  • We have no idea how long we’ll need to endure, but we’ll do so by keeping our eyes on Jesus
  • We can’t despair
  • God will not give us more than we can handle
  • Given the times with the increasing frequency and intensity of the birth pains, although we’ll see persecution, God will deliver us
  • That’s the message and the encouragement for today
  • Will there be Another Great Awakening?
  • No – I think that’s impossible – looking at the cycles of history AND considering the depraved moral state of our nation AND given that God MUST judge the wicked
  • The darkness is upon us
  • It may get very black
  • But you know the saying: It’s always darkest before the dawn
  • Let’s work in the light while it’s still daytime
  • The night is very near, but the glory of the Lord shines ever brightly and we have much to hope for
  • In fact, our hope is a sure thing
  • It is our confidence
  • Just remember what Jesus tells us in Luke 21:28:

 

Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

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