“Encouragement for the Last Days”

2025-12-27T21:27:00.007-05:00

Prophecies of Jesus in Old Testament

Genesis 3:15

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

From the very beginning, right after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, he gave indication that a savior would be coming from the seed of the woman, Eve. God revealed right away that this seed would be the one that would crush the head of the serpent.

We know that seed pointed to Jesus. Moses is credited as the author of the book of Genesis. The time of his writing isn’t one hundred percent certain, but is estimated to be about 1500 years before Christ was born.

Genesis 12:3

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

In this verse, God is making a promise to Abraham that he would make him into a great nation.

As part of that promise he tells him that all people on earth will be blessed through you.

This blessing of all mankind points to the one who would redeem peoples from every tribe and tongue on the face of the earth. The blessing of salvation was for all who would believe.

3. Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

This Scripture points to the manner in which he will born, and also to one of the names given to Christ: Immanuel, meaning God with us.

This was pointing to both his human birth and his divine nature. This was written over 700 years before Christ was born.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah‬ ‭9‬:‭5‬, ‭9‬ ‭

Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

We know Jesus was born in Bethlehem and this Scripture tells us in advance the place Jesus would be born. This prophecy was written by Micah approximately 800 years before Christ was born.

Hosea 11:1. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

This prophecy was written by Hosea also approximately 800 years before Christ was born. This verse looks backward and forward. Remember the Israelites were slaves in Egypt when God brought them out. Also remember that Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the baby Jesus to avoid the slaughter by Herod.

This verse can apply to both of those situations. However, it was referred to by Matthew in his writings (Matthew 2:14-15).

Old Testament Predictions of Jesus' Death

One place we can turn to that accurately predicts Christ’s death is Psalm 22. I will highlight a few verses from this Psalm.

Psalm 22:1

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Psalm 22:7-8

“All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’”

Psalm 22:16-18

“Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”

This Psalm was written by David approximately 1000 years before Christ came. I just want to highlight within this Psalm the many references to the actual crucifixion of Christ. I will include the New Testament reference for each of these:

* Jesus cried out “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)

* They mocked and hurled insults shaking their heads at Jesus (Matthew 27:39, Mark 15:29)

* They shouted “He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord save him” (Matthew 27:41-43)

* They nailed him to a cross piercing his hand and feet (Matthew 27:35)

* They divided his clothes and cast lots for them (Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34)

The accuracy and specific nature of David’s prophecy has caused some skeptics to believe it was written after the crucifixion had already taken place. But the evidence shows this was written about 1000 years before. If someone should ever ask you where the Old Testament predicts Jesus birth and death, this Psalm should be included in the conversation. Especially if you are talking about his death.

Another great passage to turn to is Isaiah 53. The whole chapter refers to Christ, but I want to highlight a few verses.

Isaiah 53:5

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:7

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

Isaiah 53:9

“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth

Prophecy concerning Gaza

2025-12-27T21:14:00.001-05:00

Prophecies of concerning the war in Gaza.

Gaza is on the Mediterranean coast to the south of Israel.
It is the same location where Sampson was held captive.
Population of 2 million
Ruled by terrorist group called Hamas, which has attacked Israel for 20 plus years
October 7, 2023…1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 others were taken hostage by Hamas.
Israel declared war on them.

Prophecies concerning Gaza

Isaiah 14:29-31

“Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant. Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.”

This prophecy in Isaiah speaks of the destruction of Gaza from a northern army, the Israel Defense Forces. This prophecy has come to pass.

Jeremiah 47:1-7

“For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, Lacking courage, Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor. Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley.”

The IDF came from the north and attacked Gaza. They also attacked Tyre and Sidon. This prophecy has come to pass!

Amos 1:6-8

“Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom. But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces. I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,’ Says the Lord God.” This prophecy has happened.

Zephaniah 2:4-7

“For Gaza shall be forsaken, And Ashkelon desolate; They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, And Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: ‘I will destroy you; So there shall be no inhabitant.’ The seacoast shall be pastures, With shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; They shall feed their flocks there; In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will intervene for them, and return their captives.

The Jewish captives were recently released by Gaza. Prophecy has been fulfilled!

Zechariah 9:5-7

“Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful, And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, And shall be like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.”

This prophecy foretells the end of Gaza’s rule and its sorrow, aligning with Ezekiel 25 and its judgment on the Philistines.

Ezekiel 25:15-17

“‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,” therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.”

Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians according to the Hamas-run health ministry, nearly the entire population has been forced to move, and the UN says most homes have been damaged or destroyed.

God’s judgment is falling on Gaza for hundreds of years abuse of the Jewish people. It will be totally destroyed and Israel will take possession of the region. Ancient prophecy is coming to pass.

“ LIFE IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM”

2025-12-27T16:50:00.007-05:00

LIFE IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM”

1. Jesus will reign as King of the world from Jerusalem.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary and informed her that she would conceive a son, Gabriel said of the son, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Gabriel’s word of prophecy will be fulfilled in the kingdom age as Jesus rules over the world from His Davidic throne in Jerusalem.

As Isaiah 24:23 says: “For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem.”

2. David will reign as a prince/vice-regent to Jesus.

Like the bodies of all the believers from the Old Testament era, David’s body will be resurrected, glorified, and reunited with his soul at Christ’s Second Coming.

David will then serve as what we might think of as a “second-in-command” (especially concerning the Jews) under Jesus during the millennial reign. In reference to this time,

God says in Jeremiah 30:9, “But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” Other relevant passages are: Ezekiel 34:23-24, Ezekiel 37:24, and Hosea 3:5.

3. Christ’s 12 apostles will sit on thrones with Him and serve as judges over the 12 tribes of Israel.

In the kingdom age, the city of Jerusalem will be enlarged and raised up topographically from its surrounding land (Zechariah 14:10). “All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.”

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The city will also be surrounded by walls, within which will be 12 gates (Ezekiel 48:30-35).

Furthermore, each of the 12 tribes of Israel will have an allotted section of Canaan (the land of Israel). The borders of these sections are meticulously recorded in Ezekiel 48:1-29.

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Jesus Himself promised His chosen 12 apostles that they will serve as judges over the 12 tribes of Israel during His reign

(Matthew 19:28 “So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.)”

4. Christians will reign with Jesus.

In Revelation 5:9-10, we read a quote that comes from twenty-four elders that John sees in heaven.

These twenty-four elders represent the entirety of the church in heaven following the Rapture. And what do these elders say to Jesus?

They say, “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and WE SHALL REIGN ON THE EARTH.”

5. Christians will be given varying degrees of responsibility based upon their level of service rendered in life.

In Luke 19:11-27, Jesus tells an interesting parable. It begins with a certain nobleman going into a far country to receive a kingdom. Before he leaves on the trip, he gathers together ten of his servants and gives each one a mina, along with the command, “Do business till I return.” When the nobleman returns, he finds that one of the servants has taken his one mina and through good business turned it into ten minas. The nobleman says, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.” Another servant’s profit of five minas is rewarded with him being given authority over five cities. But one servant does nothing to invest his mina. Instead of investing it, he places it in a handkerchief for safekeeping. So, upon the nobleman’s return, the nobleman has the one mina taken from that servant and given to the servant who has ten minas.

If we are right to apply this “kingdom” parable to delegated responsibilities in the kingdom age, it means that Christians who render the most fruitful service in life will be awarded the greater responsibilities in the millennial reign.

6. There will be worldwide peace.

Isaiah 2:4 says of the millennial reign: “He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

The plowshare is the cutting blade of a plow. A

pruning hook is a long-handled instrument with a curved blade that is used for pruning plants.

The teaching is that warfare and military pursuits will be replaced by agricultural efforts. Another relevant passage is Micah 4:1-3.

7. The earth itself will be restored to a pristine condition.

After Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden, God told him, “Cursed is the ground for your sake…” (Genesis 3:17). God’s curse ruined the pristine natural conditions that existed before Adam’s sin.

Romans 8:18-22 elaborates on this idea by saying that creation was “subjected to futility” and now exists under “the bondage of corruption.” It “groans and labors” like a woman who is ready to give birth.

This explains why the earth is filled with such things as weeds, briars, and deserts.

But Christ’s millennial reign will feature in large part a worldwide return to nature’s once idyllic conditions.

For example, the “desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” and “waters shall burst forth in the wilderness” (Isaiah 35:1-10).

Other relevant passages are: Isaiah 32:14-15, Ezekiel 34:26-27, Zechariah 8:11-12, Joel 3:18, and Amos 9:13.

Isaiah 32:14-15…” fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

15 till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.

Amos 9:13….”Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.”

8. All the earth’s fierce creatures will become tame and docile.

Isaiah 11:6-8 says that in the millennial reign: the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid goat, the calf will lie down with the young lion, the cow and the bear will graze together, the lion will eat straw like the ox, and deadly snakes will not strike.

In other words, all the carnivorous beasts and dangerous creatures will stop their killing and their flesh eating.

9. Life will return to simpler times.

The Bible’s descriptions of Christ’s millennial reign consistently teach that life on earth in those days will be a return to simpler times.

Isaiah 61:5 speaks of flocks, plowmen, and vinedressers.

Isaiah 65:21 speaks of vineyards.

Jeremiah 31:12 speaks of wheat, new wine, oil, flocks, and herds.

Joel 2:18-24 speaks of grain, new wine, oil, open pastures, fruit-bearing trees, fig trees, vines, and threshing floors.

Amos 9:13-14 speaks of plowing, sowing seed, reaping, making gardens, planting vineyards, treading upon grapes, and drinking wine from them.

Micah 4:4 and Zechariah 3:10 both speak of grapevines and fig trees.

Zechariah 2:4 speaks of livestock.

Zechariah 8:12 speaks of seed, vines, and grounds giving their increase.

#10. Jesus will provide physical healing for the tribulation-period survivors who go into the millennial reign in their earthly bodies.

Earth’s inhabitants during the 1,000 years of the kingdom age will be a mixed assortment of believers existing in eternal, glorified bodies and believers existing in normal, earthly bodies.

Concerning the believers (Jewish and Gentile) who live through the tribulation period and go into the millennial reign in their earthly bodies, Jesus will heal them of all their physical infirmities at the beginning of the 1,000 years.

Isaiah 35:5:-6 says of that time: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing…” Jesus will heal those people of their diseases, infirmities, and sicknesses as easily as He healed people during His first coming.

11. The tribulation-period survivors will live to extended ages.

Some factor or combination of factors about the kingdom age will allow people in their normal bodies to live to incredible ages. Perhaps it will be the fact that Jesus heals those bodies completely at the start of the 1,000 years.

Perhaps it will be the fact that the earth will no longer be under God’s curse. Perhaps it will be the return to the rural, agriculture-based society and diet. Perhaps it will be all of these factors working in unison.

Isaiah 65:20 teaches that if someone dies at the age of 100 it will be as if that person died as a child.

Zechariah 8:4 says that Jerusalem in the kingdom age will feature old men and old women who are of “great age.”

The average lifespan in the millennial reign will be much longer than the lifespans to which we are accustomed today.

The tribulation-period believer who goes into the kingdom age in an earthly body will eventually die, even if it takes several centuries to do so.

We must keep in mind that the tribulation-period survivors will still have the inborn, Adamic nature of sin coursing through them.

There will inevitably be a certain amount of sin in the millennial reign and sin ultimately leads to physical death for the sinner (Romans 5:12).

So there will be deaths in the millennial reign as well.

12. The tribulation-period survivors will rebuild old ruins, build new houses, and rebuild cities.

The events of the tribulation period will lay waste to the houses, structures, towns, and cities of the world. The planet will be dotted here, there, and everywhere by ruins and rubble.

Isaiah 61:4 says of the millennial reign: “And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations of many generations.”

Isaiah 65:21-22 says: “They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat…And my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”

Amos 9:14, where God says, “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them…”

There will be much building work done in the kingdom age. Going all the way back to Adam and Eve tending the garden of Eden, God’s plan for the human race has always included a balanced, healthy, productive dose of work.

13. The tribulation-period survivors will bear offspring in the kingdom age.

If men and women go into the kingdom age in their earthly bodies, have those bodies completely healed at the outset, and live lives of extended ages, the natural result will be lots of offspring.

Isaiah 65:23 says that kingdom couples will not “bring forth children for trouble.”

Likewise, Isaiah 11:8 speaks of nursing children and weaned children.

Zechariah 8:5 says: “The streets of the city (Jerusalem) shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.”

The kingdom age will feature a population explosion.

It should be noted, though, that these children will be born sinners.

The tribulation-period survivors will enter the kingdom age with sin still coursing through their bodies. Unfortunately, a sin-tainted father and a sin-tainted mother can only produce a sin-tainted child. Jesus will fix most things about life on earth for His millennial reign, but He won’t fix that basic genetic problem.

14. Jerusalem will be the spiritual capital of the earth.

The fact is that kingdom-age citizens will populate the globe. There will be nations.

No matter where they live, though, they will think of Jerusalem as the spiritual capital of the earth.

Considering that Jesus will be reigning from His throne there, it only makes sense that the city will hold a unique place of prominence.

What the earth’s inhabitants will do is make periodic trips to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:2-3 says of Jerusalem: “…And all nations shall flow to it.

15.The Educational System….

Isaiah 2:3….Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Habakkuk 2:14: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea".
Isaiah 11:9: "...for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea".

16.The World’s Economy

Isaiah 60:1-18 goes into great detail about the wealth the Gentiles will bring into Jerusalem during the kingdom age. The passage describes multitudes of camels bringing gold and incense and covering the land (v.6). It also says of the city: “the sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you” (v.10).

The city’s gates will be “open continually” that people may bring “the wealth of the Gentiles” to the city (v.11). Jesus spoke of all this when He said, “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11).

In particular, the kingdom-age Gentiles from around the world will make trips to Jerusalem to observe certain ceremonies and feasts.

The Feast of Tabernacles in the millennial reign, Zechariah 14:16-17 says: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no more rain.”

This passage might prompt us to ask, “But how will there even be a possibility of some Gentiles refusing to make the trip to Jerusalem for the required observance of the Feast of Tabernacles?”

The answer involves the offspring of those tribulation-period believers. As the centuries of Christ’s thousand-year reign roll on, more and more of those offspring and their offspring will refuse to accept Earth’s King, Jesus, as their Savior and Lord.

This rebellion will systematically grow like a cancer until it reaches full bloom at the close of the 1,000 years. That is when it will climax in a full-fledged coup attempt aimed at dethroning Jesus.

15. There will be a millennial temple in Jerusalem where Jewish priests will offer up sacrifices from Jews and Gentiles.

The ceremonies and feasts that will be held annually in the kingdom age. Just as in the days of the Mosaic Law, these ceremonies and feasts will involve priests offering up prescribed sacrifices.

This temple will NOT be the rebuilt temple of the tribulation period. Evidently that temple will be destroyed by either the great earthquake of the seventh bowl judgment (Revelation 16:17-21) or the warfare that is raging in Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s Second Coming (Zechariah 14:1-15).

Whereas that tribulation-period temple will be built to suit the will of humans, the millennial temple will be built to suit the will of God.

Relevant passages on the subject of the millennial temple and the worship services that will take place there are: Isaiah 60:7, Isaiah 66:18-24, Jeremiah 33:14-18, Haggai 2:6-9, and Zechariah 1:16-17.

The temple to be built in the Millennium will be much larger than any historic temple of Israel, being a square 875 feet (500 cubits) in width and length. It will face east and will have an outer wall on the other three sides. The temple will have thirty rooms built on three levels.

Except for the western wall, the other three sides will have a large outer court that will surround the temple itself with gates in each of the three walls….In connection with the temple, Ezekiel predicted that there will be a great river flowing from the temple to the south, having sufficient volume so that one will not be able to wade across (47:3-6).

The river banks will be covered with trees (verses 7-9), and the river will have fish and other living creatures in it.

Fresh water will apparently replace the salty Dead Sea, and the river will continue to flow to the south of Israel until it reaches the Gulf of Arabah.

16.Restoration of Eden

Transformation: It signifies a transformed world where people deeply know and experience God, leading to harmony (like animals not harming each other, as in Isaiah 11) and the end of suffering.

Fulfillment of Creation: It fulfills God's original intent for humanity, made in His image, to fill the earth with His glory.

Experiential Knowledge: It's a profound, relational knowledge of God's power, majesty, and presence, rather than mere facts.

Rule with a rod of iron

Psalm 2:9-12

“You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

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Revelation 19:15

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

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“Even so come Lord Jesus come!”

Prophecies concerning the war in Gaza being fulfilled!

2025-10-30T16:34:00.006-04:00

Prophecies of concerning the war in Gaza.

Gaza is on the Mediterranean coast to the south of Israel.
It is the same location where Sampson was held captive.
Population of 2 million
Ruled by terrorist group called Hamas, which has attacked Israel for 20 plus years
October 7, 2023…1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 others were taken hostage by Hamas.
Israel declared war on them.

Prophecies concerning Gaza

Isaiah 14:29-31

This prophecy in Isaiah speaks of the destruction of Gaza from a northern army, the Israel Defense Forces. This prophecy has come to pass.

Jeremiah 47:1-7

The IDF came from the north and attacked Gaza. They also attacked Tyre and Sidon. This prophecy has come to pass!

Amos 1:6-8

Zephaniah 2:4-7

The Jewish captives were recently released by Gaza. Prophecy has been fulfilled!

Zechariah 9:5-7

This prophecy foretells the end of Gaza’s rule and its sorrow, aligning with Ezekiel 25 and its judgment on the Philistines.

Ezekiel 25:15-17

God’s judgment is falling on Gaza for hundreds of years abuse of the Jewish people. It will be totally destroyed and Israel will take possession of the region. Ancient prophecy is coming to pass.

Send us Prophets

2025-09-12T20:35:00.003-04:00

SEND US PROPHETS!!

Leonard Ravenhill

The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men.

Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, “No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected.” The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his “brand name.”

The group, challenged by the prophet because they are smug and comfortably insulated from a perishing world in their warm but untested theology, is not likely to vote him “Man of the year” when he refers to them as habituates of the synagogue of Satan!

The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line! He is unpopular because he opposes the popular in morality and spirituality. In a day of faceless politicians and voiceless preachers, there is not a more urgent national need than that we cry to God for a prophet! The function of the prophet, as Austin-Sparks once said, “has almost always been that of recovery.”

The prophet is God’s detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.

He has no price tags.

He is totally “otherworldly.”

He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.

He marches to another drummer!

He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.

He is a “seer” who comes to lead the blind.

He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a “thus saith

the Lord.”

He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of

impending judgment.

He lives in “splendid isolation.”

He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.

His message is “repent, be reconciled to God or else…!”

His prophecies are parried.

His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.

He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.

He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!

He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with

epitaphs when dead.

He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few “make the grade” in his class.

He is friendless while living and famous when dead.

He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint

by posterity.

He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of

Life to those who listen.

He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.

He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.

He announces, pronounces, and denounces!

He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.

He talks to men about God.

He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.

He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.

He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in

the marketplace.

He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.

He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.

He is ordained of God but disdained by men.

Our national need at this hour is not that the dollar recover its strength, or that we save face over the Watergate affair, or that we find the answer to the ecology problem. We need a God-sent prophet!

I am bombarded with talk or letters about the coming shortages in our national life: bread, fuel, energy. I read between the lines from people not practiced in scaring folk. They feel that the “seven years of plenty” are over for us. The “seven years of famine” are ahead. But the greatest famine of all in this nation at this given moment is a FAMINE OF THE HEARING OF THE WORDS OF GOD (Amos 8:11).

Millions have been spent on evangelism in the last twenty-five years. Hundreds of gospel messages streak through the air over the nation every day. Crusades have been held; healing meetings have made a vital contribution. “Come-outers” have “come out” and settled, too, without a nation-shaking revival. Organizers we have. Skilled preachers abound. Multi-million dollar Christian organizations straddle the nation. BUT where, oh where, is the prophet? Where are the incandescent men fresh from the holy place? Where is the Moses to plead in fasting before the holiness of the Lord for our moldy morality, our political perfidy, and sour and sick spirituality?

GOD’S MEN ARE IN HIDING UNTIL THE DAY OF THEIR SHOWING FORTH. They will come. The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history.

There is a terrible vacuum in evangelical Christianity today. The missing person in our ranks is the prophet. The man with a terrible earnestness. The man totally otherworldly. The man rejected by other men, even other good men, because they consider him too austere, too severely committed, too negative and unsociable.

Let him be as plain as John the Baptist.

Let him for a season be a voice crying in the wilderness of modern theology and

stagnant “Churchanity.”

Let him be as selfless as Paul the apostle.

Let him, too, say and live, “This ONE thing I do.”

Let him reject ecclesiastical favors.

Let him be self-abasing, non self-seeking, non self-projecting, non self - righteous,

non self-glorying, non self-promoting.

Let him say nothing that will draw men to himself but only that which will move

men to God.

Let him come daily from the throne room of a holy God, the place where he has

received the order of the day.

Let him, under God, unstop the ears of the millions who are deaf through the

clatter of shekels milked from this hour of material mesmerism.

Let him cry with a voice this century has not heard because he has seen a vision

no man in this century has seen. God send us this Moses to lead us from the

wilderness of crass materialism, where the rattlesnakes of lust bite us and where

enlightened men, totally blind spiritually, lead us to an ever-nearing Armageddon.

God have mercy! Send us PROPHETS!

The Josephs Will Arise

2025-09-12T14:15:00.002-04:00

"The Josephs Will Arise"

by Michael Edds

There is a special remnant of believers whom I call the "Joseph Generation." They are a divinely appointed people that God has been preparing for a specific time of ministry. Like Joseph, God has placed within them a "life plan" or specific destiny or calling to fulfill in life. They have divine gifting within them to fulfill that life plan. Paraphrasing Psalms 139:1, the Scripture states: "All the days planned for me were written in Your book before any came to be." Ephesians 4:8 records these words, "When He ascended on high He gave gifts (His abilities) to men and women." The heart of God is recorded in the words of Matthew 9:36, "When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary, scattered like sheep having no shepherd." GOD CARES ABOUT PEOPLE. That is His nature. His compassion always leads to action.

JOSEPH....

God looked down through the ages of time and saw a day and time that would bring starvation on the world and upon His people. In His compassion, God prepared a plan and a man in advance to meet that critical situation. He placed that plan along with the divine abilities to fulfill that plan in the soul and life of a man called Joseph. Jeremiah 1:5 states, "Before you were born, I knew you and set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. You must go everywhere I send you and say whatsoever I command you."

Joseph, like the Joseph Generation today was born by the will of God, not by the will of the flesh. Joseph was born with a life plan and abilities from God. Did he know the fullness of that life plan? No, he did not. He knew that he had administrative abilities, gifts and special insights. His destiny and life plan called to him through dreams, an inward sense of purpose and through circumstances. Did Joseph immediately step into his life plan and destiny? NO, he did not. He was enrolled in the "SCHOOL OF DUNG." Psalms 105: 16-22 describes that schooling. He was rejected and hated by his own brothers, sold into slavery, he was laid in irons and chains, his feet were hurt with fetters, he was falsely accused, innocently sent to prison, and the word of the Lord tried him severely. His destiny which called to him and life's situations were horribly in conflict. Life had gone to "hell in a handbasket." Thoughts raged through Joseph's mind and soul: "God, you promised me wonderful things. What I am going through is the total opposite of what You revealed to me long ago. Why am I suffering rejection, false accusation, hatred and abuse? Where are You in all of this, Lord? Have you forsaken me? Were all those things just a mere dream, a fantasy of my mind? Why does this inward sense of destiny still call me when it looks impossible for any good to come to me?" THE WORD OF THE LORD TRIED Joseph!

When creating a vessel for special purpose or honor, a wise potter follows a certain procedure. There is a plan and destiny for the lump of clay in the potter's hands. The clay is pounded, pressed and pressure placed upon it to make it pliable. It is placed upon the potter's wheel and pressure applied to start molding it into shape. When the desired shape is achieved, the potter places his creation into the kiln for intense heat to be applied to harden it.

After cooling, stain is applied to this hardened pot. It is fired again to make sure the stain and colors are permanent. The pot is beautiful and ready for use, right? NO! The wise potter wants his creation to be completely ready for its intended purpose. He places it on a shelf in a dark, lonely place to age. When the time is right, he takes the pot out of the darkness and brings it into the light for use. Otherwise, an unprepared vessel could break and spoil the contents it carries.

The Word of the Lord tried Joseph. "Has God forgotten me? Has He abandoned me? Have I missed it somewhere?" Like the potter, God allowed Joseph to go through the "dung of life," the pressures, the heat, the staining and the lonely darkness in order to prepare him for the destiny which had called to him all of his life. God had not forgotten nor abandoned him. God heard Joseph's many prayers, laments, and cries of desperation. He felt the hurts and anguish of this man of destiny. Many times He would have wanted to and could have intervened to deliver Joseph. However, He tied His own Hands and refused to deliver Joseph out of ultimate love for him. He knew that if He took Joseph out of the "school of dung," that intervention would destroy the divine destiny God had prepared for him. It would destroy the process of making Joseph into a vessel of honor and use. The Word of the Lord tried Joseph until the day that His word came to pass. That word was, "the king has need of thee." Joseph's prison door was opened, his garments changed, and he was ushered into the presence of Pharaoh. He went from prison to position in ONE HOUR!

His destiny had arrived! All of the dung and hardships that Joseph had gone through suddenly made sense. People had meant those things for evil BUT GOD HAD MEANT IT FOR GOOD, FOR THE SAVING OF MANY LIVES. Joseph was completely ready and prepared for the destiny for which he was created. He never failed nor dropped the ball. He successfully fulfilled the plan of God.

A special generation now exists that has felt throughout their lives an inward sense of destiny and purpose. That destiny has called to them every day of their lives. That divine destiny has called to them through dreams, visions, an inward desire or passion, and through circumstances. However, like Joseph, they have been enrolled in the "school of dung." They have unjustly suffered rejection, jealousy, hatred, been forgotten, falsely accused, and have been misunderstood.

Their pure motives have been suspect. Their love has been not been reciprocated. They have felt imprisoned on an island of loneliness and rejection. Life has not been kind nor gentle to them.

The Word of the Lord has severely tried them. Their divine destiny or life plan has been in conflict with the situations in which they find themselves.

Their prayers seem to bounce off a heaven made of brass. They feel that they have been placed on a dark, lonely, dusty shelf.

Purpose has evaporated. They have even cried out to God to "just take me on home." Where is God in all of this?

Out of infinite love, God has allowed this generation, this Joseph Generation, to endure this school of dung. He has refused to intervene until they had been prepared and perfected for the destiny to which He has called them.

He is creating a generation that will be "selfless" rather than "selfish." Like Joseph, they will graduate from the school of dung as vessels of honor. They will not fail nor drop the ball. They will be totally prepared to fulfill the destiny to which God has called them.

They have been prepared for a day and an hour of great ministry. They will be ushered from prison to position suddenly.

The time has come for the "Master Potter" to walk into that dark lonely room. He will stretch forth His Hand onto that dusty shelf and pick up the vessel that has endured the long night of solitary isolation. Gently, His Hand will wipe away the dust and bring forth that special vessel.

The words will be spoken, "The King has need of thee." The time of preparation will have ended. Destiny will have come! The long endured hardships will suddenly make sense. Joy will overtake them. The life plan and gifting will be activated.

The Joseph Generation is a secret weapon that God has prepared in the school of dung, in the darkness, in the isolation for such a time as this. They are about to be suddenly unleashed upon the kingdom of darkness. God has prepared them to meet the great needs of this present generation. They will have the Master Potter's image upon them. They will have the forgiving heart of Joseph who said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good to the saving of many lives."

They will be a selfless people who will give the glory to God. They will not fail. So, Joseph Generation, take heart. Your bitter night is about to end. It is sunrise not sunset. Joy comes in the morning! Even now, the door is being unlocked and opened. Listen for the words, "the King has need of thee."

God has not forgotten you! Yes, He has seen your tears and heard your cries. He is opening a door which NO MAN can open or shut. ... Josephs take courage! THE KING HAS NEED OF THEE!

Legend of the Thanksgiving Spoon

2025-09-12T13:53:00.001-04:00

Thanksgiving brings to mind many images — the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, the Puritans, William Bradford and Miles Standish, and the first Thanksgiving feast attended by pilgrims and native Americans. Many stories have embellished this most American of holidays. Some are true, while others are Hollywood fiction.

One such legend has existed in my wife Jean’s family for 15 generations. The story centers on an old silver spoon, which has been handed down to the youngest daughter of each generation in her family. So the tale goes, the spoon came over on the Mayflower in the possession of one of its passengers, Stephen Hopkins. However, lost in the mists of time has been the reason for giving the spoon to the youngest female in each generation. My wife’s Aunt Re is the current possessor and protector of this intriguing heirloom.

Being skeptical and certain that my wife’s lineage could not be finer than mine, I researched her genealogical connection to Hopkins and looked for evidence of the spoon in his day. To my chagrin, I discovered that in fact my wife was a direct descendant of Hopkins and that he and his family were bona fide passengers on the Mayflower. I was married to a blue blood! However, I still found no record of a silver spoon.

So, I continued my quest. As I researched Hopkins in depth, what an incredible character began to unfold before me! Stephen was not the typical Puritan, or a Puritan at all! He was a native of Hampshire, England. He married his first wife, Mary, in the parish of Hursley, Hampshire; he and wife Mary had their children – Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles – all baptized there. Constance was my wife Jean’s ancestor. Hopkins went on the ship Sea Venture heading to Jamestown, Va., in 1609 as a minister’s clerk, but the ship wrecked at the “Isle of Devils” in the Bermudas. Stranded on an island for 10 months, the passengers and crew survived on turtles, birds and wild pigs.

After months as a castaway, Stephen and others organized a mutiny against the leader. The mutiny was discovered, and Stephen was sentenced to death. However, he pleaded with tears. “So penitent he was, and made so much moan, alleging the ruin of his wife and children in this, his trespass, as it wrought in the hearts of all the better sorts of the company,” an aged account says. He managed to get his sentence commuted. Interestingly, Shakespeare wrote a play, “The Tempest,” around 1611 with an insurrectionist character called Stefano, who many believe was patterned after Stephen Hopkins. Eventually the castaways built a small ship and sailed themselves to Jamestown.

How long Stephen remained in Jamestown is not known. However, while he was gone, his wife Mary died. She was buried in Hursley on 9 May 1613, and left behind a probate estate that mentions her children, Elizabeth, Constance and Giles.

Stephen was back in England by 1617, when he married Elizabeth Fisher. Their first child, Damaris, was born about 1618. In 1620, Stephen Hopkins brought his wife and children Constance, Giles and Damaris on the Mayflower. Stephen was a fairly active member of the Pilgrims after arrival, perhaps he was one of the few who had been to Virginia previously. He was a part of all the early exploring missions and was used almost as an expert on Native Americans for the first few contacts.

While exploring, Stephen recognized and identified an Indian deer trap. When the Native American leader Samoset walked into Plymouth and welcomed the English, he was housed in Hopkins’ house for the night. Stephen was also sent on several missions to meet various Indian groups in the region. Accompanied by legendary Native American guide Squanto, Hopkins brought gifts to seal a friendship with the chief.

Stephen was a signer of the historic Mayflower Compact, an ancestor of our present Constitution. Stephen was an assistant to the governor through 1636 and volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637 but was never called to serve. By the late 1630s, however, Stephen began to run afoul of Plymouth authorities, as he apparently opened up a shop and served alcohol. In 1636 he got into a fight with John Tisdale and seriously wounded him. In 1637, he was fined for allowing drinking and shuffleboard playing on Sunday.

Early the next year, he was fined for allowing people to drink excessively. In 1638 he was twice fined for selling beer at twice the actual value, and in 1639 he was fined for selling a looking glass for twice what it would cost if bought in the Bay Colony. Also in 1638, Hopkins’ maidservant Dorothy got pregnant by Arthur Peach, who was subsequently executed for murdering an Indian. The Plymouth Court ruled that Hopkins was financially responsible for her and her child for the next two years (the amount remaining on her term of indentured service). Stephen, in contempt of court, threw Dorothy out and refused to provide for her, so the court committed him to custody. John Holmes stepped in and purchased Dorothy’s remaining two years of service, agreeing to support her and her child.

Stephen began to change his ways in the 1650s. He became friends with Captain Miles Standish who used his home and property to be the colony’s arsenal and courthouse. Stephen remained close friends not only with Standish but with William Bradford. Both were witnesses and signers of his will. Hopkins died between June 1644, when his will was made, and July 1644, when the inventory of his estate was taken.

After searching through many historical documents, I still could not locate “the spoon.” Finally, I found Hopkins’ detailed will on the Pilgrim Hall Museum website. As I read through this lengthy document I came across the following lines:

“Also I do give and bequeath unto my foure daughters, that is to say Deborah Hopkins, Damaris Hopkins, Ruth Hopkins and Elizabeth Hopkins, all the mooveable goods the wch do belong to my house. As linnen wollen beds bedcloathes pott kettles pewter or whatsoevr are moveable belonging to my said house of what kynd soever and not named by their prticular names all wch said mooveables to bee equally devided amongst my said daughters foure silver spoones that is to say to eich of them one, And in case any of my said daughters should be taken away by death before they be marryed that then the part of their division to be equally devided amongst the Survivors.”

I had found the spoon! In fact, four silver spoons were given to his four youngest daughters. However, how did my wife’s ancestor, Constance, the fifth and oldest daughter, come to possess one of the spoons? They were left to her four younger sisters. Searching deeper, I found the probable answer, thanks to William Bradford, one of the colony’s famous leaders. He wrote in 1650: “Mr. Hopkins and his wife are now both dead, but they lived above twenty years in this place and had one son and four daughters born here. Their son became a seaman and died at Barbadoes, one daughter died here and two are married; one of them hath two children, and one is yet to marry. So their increase which still survive are five. But his son Giles is married and hath four children. His daughter Constance is also married and hath twelve children, all of them living and one of them married.” One daughter had died – that was my answer! According to Stephen’s will, if any died, her share was to be divided among the others. Constance, the eldest, inherited the spoon from her deceased younger sister!

What an incredible journey through time the spoon had led me! No doubt that old spoon was used at that first Thanksgiving meal. Maybe the hand of Miles Standish, or William Bradford or maybe Squanto held it. Could it have been the serving spoon for mashed potatoes, corn or stuffing? Whatever its use, it was there on that first Thanksgiving table 400 years ago when two vastly different peoples joined together to give thanks unto a most gracious God.

The old spoon will be polished again for this Thanksgiving meal at Aunt Re’s house. It again will be in the hand of a distant daughter of Stephen Hopkins. It again will be present where a sumptuous meal will be served and heartfelt prayers of thanksgiving will be given.

The Final Great Awakening

2025-09-12T13:30:00.002-04:00

"OLD WELLS, FALLEN MANTLES, NEW

FOUNTAINS"

( A VISION OF THE FINAL GREAT AWAKENING)

by Michael Edds

I moved to a major U.S city in June 2000 to assume the position as Head of School for an interdenominational Christian High School. The school was new but had numerous problems, the most severe totally unknown to me. Prior to my arrival, a teacher had been arrested for involving a student in pornography. The teacher had been convicted and sentenced. Upon my arrival, the incident had become front-page news in the community. To say the least, I was shocked and stunned.

One night I could not sleep. I was very angry with the Lord for putting me into this greatly stressful mess. “Surely, I thought, I deserve better than this.” Around 2 am, I got up to sit on the couch and pout. In spite of my upset state, anger and disgust, the Presence of the Lord settled in the living room. God did not even pay attention to or address my complaint. Instead, His presence was so strong that I physically trembled. He spoke these words, “Old Wells, Fallen Mantles, and New Fountains.” He instructed me to get my Bible. By that time, I too had set aside my complaint. His Presence was so great that I did not know if I could survive it.

I opened my Bible to Isaiah 35: 3-7: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing, for IN THE WILDERNESS SHALL WATER BREAK OUT and streams in the desert. AND THE PARCHED GROUND SHALL BECOME A POOL and the thirsty land SPRINGS OF WATER.”

The Lord led me to Isaiah 41:17 -18, "The poor and needy seek water but there is none. Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in the desolate heights and fountains in the midst of valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of waters."

Next came Isaiah 43:20, " I will give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people, my chosen."

I was directed to verse 19 of [Isaiah 43]: “Behold I WILL DO A NEW THING. Now it shall SPRING [BURST] FORTH. Shall ye not know it?”

The Lord was moving so quickly through the scriptures that I could hardly keep up. His presence was incredibly strong. I felt like I was floating.

Leaving Isaiah, the Lord took me to Joel 2:23: “He will cause to come down for you the rain, THE FORMER RAIN AND THE LATTER RAIN IN THE FIRST MONTH.”

Then Joel 2:28 was given which states: “It shall come to pass afterwards that I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH. Your sons and daughters shall PROPHESY, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS and your YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS.”

Finally, Genesis 26:18 finished the scriptures that the Lord was rapidly giving me: “AND ISAAC DUG AGAIN the WELLS of water which they had DUG IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM HIS FATHER.”

The Lord revealed the meaning of this vision:

The Early Church experienced the fullness of God. They had the fullness, the gifts and revelation of the Holy Spirit. They were full of boldness, power and anointing. God turned the world upside down through them. The dead were raised, the blind received sight, the possessed were set free, the sick healed and the Gospel was preached to the poor. The anger of Hell was violently aroused. The more the devil persecuted and killed them, the more they multiplied and spread. So Satan changed his tactics. By 300 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Empire. What Satan could not do through persecution, he accomplished through promotion, position, power, prestige, acceptance and prosperity. They SOLD OUT! The Church backslid and humanity later fell into the brutality of the Dark Ages.

The purpose of each Great Awakening or the bursting forth of a spiritual well was to restore an element of truth that the Early Church possessed back to the church. Luther restored "the just shall live by faith." Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards and the First Great Awakening restored repentance, inward holiness and “Christ in you.”

The Second Great Awakening with Barton Stone at Cane Ridge in the West and Francis Asbury in the East brought restoration in society through evangelism, missions, and great social renewal such as abolition, child labor laws, and suffrage movement.

The Third Great Awakening of 1857 restored the power of prayer. Azusa Street Outpouring of 1905 restored the in filling and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord stated that He was going to reopen all of the “old wells” of revival in order to restore TOTAL truth to His church.

Fallen mantles of ministry and anointing that rested upon the great men and women of God of old would be picked up and placed on godly men and women today to finish what was started long ago. They are the “Isaacs” that will revisit the old wells of revival and reopen them. The mantles of ministry did not die nor were they buried with Asbury, Wesley, Stone, Amanda Berry Smith and others. They have only been “on hold” until a generation would be born that could relate to them and pick them up.

Isaiah 58:12 refers to them: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places, thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.”

The Lord said, “What once was shall be again.”

Malachi 4:5 prophecies that “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” The Lord said this was not just a generational reconciliation between the old and the young. It is a restoration of His people to the Faith once delivered to the Saints, the Faith of our fathers. The Lord said He was tired of the apostasy, deadness, programs, personality cults, plans and politics that have nearly destroyed His church. He is going to restore HIS church by returning the “Faith of our Fathers to their children (descendants) and the children (descendants) to the Faith of our Fathers.”

The old wells will BURST forth and the fallen mantles will be picked up. This will be a “suddenly”. Isaiah speaks of it occurring in the desert places and on the barren heights. In other words, it will happen in the most unlikely of places.

The Lord continued His interpretation of the vision by explaining to me that “NEW FOUNTAINS” would gush or break forth also. Something that has never occurred in any Great Awakening or in any historic move of God will exploded upon the scene in our day.

Joel 2:23 speaks of God sending the former rain (the Old Wells of revival) and the latter rain (The New Fountains) in the SAME MONTH!!! In other words, all of the moves of God and fallen mantles from Pentecost until now will be reopened and picked up and combined with a totally new thing from God. It will literally shake the church and the world. HE WILL RESTORE A CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE! He will not allow the church to go out defeated. HE WILL ARISE FOR HIS OWN NAME’S SAKE!

God has been preparing a "Joseph Generation" that has been enrolled in the "School of Dung.” In this schooling, they have endured the pain of rejection, slander and isolation. The ‘Word of the Lord’ has tried them severely. They cry out, “God why? All I wanted to do is serve you. All seems to have ‘gone to hell in a hand basket’. It seems just the opposite of what You promised. I am lonely, the organized church thinks I am crazy, a fanatic, out on a limb. They have rejected me and hated me because of my love for you. WHY, OH LORD?”

God has been preparing and perfecting these "Josephs" in the darkness and in the prison houses of loneliness and isolation for a day and hour that they will be unleashed as a secret weapon on the kingdom of darkness. He has allowed all of these things to happen to them for their good. He has prepared a people whom He can trust with His power, gifts, and anointing. In holiness, humility and boldness they will fulfill His plans in our day. They will give HIM the glory. They will give HIM total control of the coming Great Awakening. The door of their prison house of utter loneliness and rejection is about to open. Their “word” is about to come. That word is “the King has need of thee.” In a moment, they will be ushered from prison to position. In a moment, they will fully understand their long and severe sufferings. In a moment, they will be brought out into the light of God’s divine destiny for them. God will greatly use them to lead the Coming Great Awakening.

Along with this final Great Awakening is coming Divine Judgment. Isaiah 35:4 declares, “Your God shall come with vengeance, even God with a recompense.” God is going to overthrow the abuse and control of man in His church. He’s going to take back the "ship" that has been turned into a luxury liner and restore her back to her original state: a ship of war. HE IS GOING TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF HIS CHURCH!!! The Church is HIS bride, not someone else.

This nation is going to be greatly shaken. The First Great Awakening preceded the American Revolution. Before the Second Great Awakening began at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, a massive epidemic of Cholera occurred. In its early days, the Third Great Awakening saw every bank in the nation collapse. This awakening was followed by the greatest disaster in American History when the nation was ripped apart and 600,000 Americans perished in the horrific War Between The States. A great earthquake hit California at the same time as the Azusa Street Outpouring. He is going to shake the Church and this nation. Only that which is of Him will be left standing.

A great hunger for repentance, seeking God, seeking holiness and seeking truth has exploded within the "Joseph Generation." They have studied, researched and sought out the Old Wells of revival. They intensely hunger for God to do it again! They cry out, “Just one more time, oh Lord!” Programs, politics, personalities, manipulation, and plans in the church sicken them. THEY MUST HAVE GOD! They MUST be in His presence! They are meeting in the homes, in the fields, in the woods, in their prayer closets and any place that they can totally seek His face. Their despair has turned into an all-consuming hunger that says, “Give me God or let me die.” GOD HAS HEARD! He is about to reopen the old wells of revival, He is picking up the fallen mantles and placing them on men and women, and He is about to do a new thing!

Every Awakening has incurred the wrath and persecution of man. When the Presence and holiness of God confronts mankind, they must make a decision for or against Him. When they choose to reject Him, they lash out and fight against His messengers. In the mid-1700s, the Baptist in Colonial Virginia were beaten, imprisoned, and killed for preaching the Gospel. The Methodist circuit riders were jailed, tarred and feathered, beaten, abused and martyred for the message of God. The reason there is little persecution against the Church in America today is that there is so little of the Presence and Message of God to confront mankind. The world has heard how to get rich, how to prosper, how to have self-esteem, and to feel good. They have not heard the message, “Repent or perish.” They have not heard the anointed Word of God that demands a decision. Be forewarned, The Final Great Awakening will usher in a wave of persecution against the true Church of God.

Old Wells of Revival are on the threshold of being reopened. Fallen Mantles of ministry are being picked up. New Fountains are rumbling beneath the surface and about to burst forth. Frank Bartleman (chronicler of the Azusa Awakening) once said, “To understand what God is going to do, we must understand what He once did.” The most incredible move of God will suddenly explode upon the scene.

Judgment and a great shaking are coming to the land and to the church. Persecution of the Isaacs and Josephs, the true saints of God will occur. However, they will be covered with such zeal and boldness, they will be like the Fathers of old: “And they loved not their lives even until death.” (Rev 12:11) God will harvest a holy remnant from this generation. He will have a church that is without spot or wrinkle, a pure bride for His Son. Be encouraged. Lift up your heads. Your God has come! “The King has need of thee!”

The Legend of the Thanksgiving Spoon

2025-05-18T22:19:00.002-04:00

The Legend of the Thanksgiving Spoon (A True Story) By Michael Edds Thanksgiving conjures up many iconic images: the Mayflower crossing the Atlantic, Plymouth Rock, the early Pilgrims like William Bradford and Miles Standish, and that first historic meal shared between Native Americans and the newly arrived settlers. Over the years, countless stories have emerged around this deeply American holiday — some steeped in truth, others painted by the brush of myth or Hollywood. But one enduring tale has been passed down through 15 generations in my wife Jean’s family. It’s the story of an old silver spoon — a humble heirloom with an extraordinary legacy. According to family tradition, this spoon made the voyage on the Mayflower, clutched in the hands of one of its passengers: Stephen Hopkins. From that moment on, it was passed down to the youngest daughter in each generation. Jean’s Aunt Re is the current keeper of this curious artifact. I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. Surely, I thought, my own lineage was just as storied as my wife’s. So I began researching her family’s connection to Stephen Hopkins — and to this so-called “Thanksgiving Spoon.” To my surprise (and slight dismay), I discovered that Jean is indeed a direct descendant of Hopkins — a genuine Mayflower blue blood. Still, there was no trace of a silver spoon. Not yet. Determined to dig deeper, I immersed myself in Hopkins’ remarkable life. What I uncovered was the story of a man as complex and captivating as the history he helped shape. Stephen Hopkins was no typical Pilgrim — in fact, he wasn’t even a Puritan. Born in Hampshire, England, he married Mary Kent in the parish of Hursley. Together they had three children — Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles — all baptized there. Constance, as it turns out, is Jean’s ancestor. In 1609, Stephen set sail on the Sea Venture, bound for the Jamestown colony in Virginia. But fate intervened. The ship wrecked in Bermuda — then ominously known as the “Isle of Devils” — and the survivors remained stranded for ten months, surviving on turtles, birds, and wild pigs. During that time, Hopkins participated in a mutiny against the ship’s leadership. He was caught, tried, and sentenced to death. But in a rare display of mercy, his emotional plea for the sake of his wife and children moved the court to spare his life. Some believe Hopkins’ ordeal inspired Shakespeare’s character “Stephano” in The Tempest, which debuted shortly afterward in 1611. Eventually, the castaways built a vessel and sailed to Jamestown. Stephen returned to England by 1617. After his wife Mary’s death, he remarried — to Elizabeth Fisher — and in 1620, he boarded the Mayflower with his new family: Constance, Giles, and baby Damaris. Hopkins brought with him not just his family, but invaluable experience from his earlier time in America. He played a vital role in the colony’s early days — joining exploration parties, assisting in diplomacy with local tribes, and even hosting the Native American leader Samoset during his first night in Plymouth. He was one of 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact — a cornerstone of American self-governance — and later served as assistant to the governor. Though deeply involved in the colony’s early administration, Stephen’s later years were more turbulent. By the late 1630s, Hopkins found himself at odds with colonial authorities. He opened a tavern, sold beer at inflated prices, and was fined multiple times — including once for letting people play shuffleboard and drink on a Sunday. He even clashed violently with another settler, seriously injuring him in a fight. Scandals followed, including the pregnancy of his maidservant by another man — an affair that embroiled Hopkins in legal trouble when he refused to support her and the child. But in time, Hopkins seemed to find stability. He befriended both Miles Standish and William Bradford, and his home became the colony’s makeshift arsenal and courthouse. Both Standish and Bradford would go on to witness and sign Hopkins’ final will. Stephen Hopkins died sometime between June and July of 1644. Still searching for the fabled spoon, I scoured every document I could find — finally discovering Hopkins’ will on the Pilgrim Hall Museum website. There, buried in the lengthy legal language, I read the words I’d been hoping for: “Also I do give and bequeath unto my foure daughters, that is to say Deborah Hopkins, Damaris Hopkins, Ruth Hopkins and Elizabeth Hopkins, all the mooveable goods… all wch said mooveables to bee equally devided amongst my said daughters foure silver spoones that is to say to eich of them one…” There it was — four silver spoons left to four daughters. But this posed a new mystery: Constance, my wife’s ancestor, was not among the named recipients. How, then, did her line inherit the spoon? The answer came through the writings of William Bradford, who in 1650 recorded the status of the Hopkins family: “Mr. Hopkins and his wife are now both dead… they had one son and four daughters born here. Their son became a seaman and died at Barbadoes, one daughter died here and two are married… Constance is also married and hath twelve children, all of them living.” One of the four daughters to whom the spoons were left had died. According to the will, in such a case, her portion was to be divided among the surviving sisters. That’s how Constance came to possess one of the original silver spoons — a legacy passed through loss, love, and the enduring spirit of family. And so the journey of the Thanksgiving Spoon comes full circle. It’s not just an old piece of silver — it is a thread connecting centuries, woven through hardship, faith, rebellion, redemption, and gratitude. This Thanksgiving, as Aunt Re sets the table and polishes the old spoon once more, it will be placed alongside turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and pie. But more than that, it will rest in the hand of another descendant of Stephen Hopkins — a silent witness once again to prayers lifted to a gracious God by those who remember, and those who give thanks.

“The Coming Darkness: A Dream and a Warning”

2025-04-26T23:01:00.000-04:00

In the fall of 2004, I had a dream. It was so real and terrifying that I had to get up from my bed to settle myself. Here is the account of the dream: I was visiting my birthplace, a small village in the beautiful Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia. I pulled my car off the road and parked in front of the old Methodist Church. Stepping out to stretch my legs, I found the day to be absolutely pristine and picture-perfect. The sky was cloudless, the sun brilliant, the air fresh and crystal clear. I admired the flowers blooming in the yards. Many people were outside working in their gardens, soaking in the beauty and peace of the day. There was such serenity all around. Then I turned and looked toward the southeast — and froze. A massive billowing cloud of absolute blackness was advancing toward the town. It blotted out all light, all beauty, everything in its path. As it approached the river that marked the edge of the village, I gasped, “Oh my God, the Darkness has come!” I sensed great evil and danger within it. Looking around, I expected others to see it too. But to my shock, no one noticed. People kept working in their yards, smiling, unaware of the approaching wall of darkness. I cried out, “They do not realize what it will be like when the Darkness comes! All the sunlight, all the beauty and peace will vanish. Life will suddenly and drastically change.” I turned to get into my car and flee. But before I could, six motorcyclists burst out of the blackness. They crossed the bridge into the town — the advance guard of the Darkness. They rode black motorcycles and were dressed head-to-toe in black leather. As they approached, the leader shouted at me: “Don’t you dare leave!” I locked my doors, floored the gas pedal, and fled. The tires screamed as I sped away. The riders pursued me, trying to force me off the road. I swerved, causing two of them to crash, but the others chased me for many miles, even firing shots at me. Finally, I approached some men working on the road and tried to ask for help. The motorcyclists were no longer in sight. I started to get out of the car — but heard a voice from above warning, “Stay in the car. Drive on.” I obeyed. Eventually, realizing I was low on gas, I stopped at a station to refuel. As I stood there, praying fervently for God’s protection, the dream ended. When I awoke, I was trembling with fear. Key Elements of the Dream • The Darkness came suddenly upon the land. • Before it came, everything was serene, beautiful, and peaceful. • No one saw it coming. • An advance guard came first on a reconnaissance mission. • When the Darkness arrived, it blotted out all light, beauty, and peace. • Life drastically changed for everyone. • I fled for safety, obeying the voice of warning. The Interpretation: A Warning for America America is standing at the threshold of something cataclysmic — A wall of Darkness is about to fall upon this land. John 14:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit “will tell you of things to come.” God often gives warnings in advance so that His people can prepare. Hebrews 11:7 says, “Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear and prepared an ark for the saving of his household…” Today, a false sense of peace covers the land. But Darkness is already at work beneath the surface. The cup of iniquity is full, and divine judgment is near. Something will soon shatter the hardness of this nation’s heart. Yet in His mercy, God has revealed something else to me: A Great Awakening is coming. It will be a final opportunity for America — and the world — to repent. It will draw together the true Bride of Christ. Historically, Awakenings have often preceded calamity. This time, the Darkness may come first, driving people to desperation — and ultimately to God. The Call: Prepare an Ark of Safety May we listen carefully to the warnings of the Holy Spirit. May we move with godly fear, as Noah did, to prepare “arks of safety” — places where others can find refuge when disaster strikes. The Darkness is coming. We must be ready.

The Betrayal of Pentecost

2025-02-22T22:36:00.003-05:00

The Betrayal of Pentecost by Michael Edds Acts 1:8 declares, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." The fulfillment of that prophetic word is recorded in Acts 2:4 when a rag-tag group of refugees met in an upstairs room in Jerusalem. It states, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance." You could call them "the first Pentecostals." The First Century Church was given this supernatural power in order to evangelize the world, and evangelize the world they most certainly did! From tiny Israel to Asia, Europe and around the world, this revival company became a channel through which the message of salvation was given to a lost and helpless humanity. The Book of Acts records the massive revival that swept the known world by those whose souls the Holy Spirit had set on fire. Millions were swept into the kingdom of Heaven because of their powerful witness. This Holy Spirit - endued group aroused the fury of Hell. All-out-war was savagely waged against them. The Hebrews 11 records, "....(They) were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, and, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tried by temptation, they were killed with the sword. They went from place to place in sheepskins or goatskins, enduring want, oppression and cruelty ... of whom the world was not worthy; in deserts wandering, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth..." The more the dark forces of Hell killed, the more the Early Church grew. What a blood - drenched legacy they have left for the 21st Century church! What have the Pentecostals of the 21st Century done with this precious heritage? For many of their televangelists, the message is PROSPERITY! The message of self-sacrifice, of giving all for the salvation of others has been replaced with "seed faith," a self-centered creed that encourages people to give to God (or their ministries) in order to get back even more. It is an appeal to one of the baser elements of the fallen nature of man......greed. It is the "divine stock market." Michael Scott Horton, teacher at a seminary in California, made this observation: "Some of these people are charlatans. Others are honestly dedicated to one of the most abhorrent errors in religious theology." Quite a spectacle on television today! On our TV screens, we see miracle water being offered that will cure all; books, tapes, DVD's for sale full of secret scriptural codes on how to get rich and prosper, and televangelists' appealing to give to their "ministry" with a certainty to receive much more financial gain in return. While "being led of the spirit," a female televangelist "prophetically" stated that God had given her the number 777. She told the people who were viewing that "God told her" that they needed to quickly give to that particular "ministry" money according to those set of numbers.... $777, $7777, and on up. They were promised a great return on their "seed faith investment." Another televangelist labeled people as stupid who question his prosperity doctrine. He declared, "Hell will be full of these stupid people." He further stated, " I can handle the flames (of Hell) but not being with stupid people for eternity." "Can't pay your bills, your rent, utilities, and medical bills? The appeal is, "take what you have and send it in right away!! Or, charge it on your credit card. Within a few days, you will receive a hundred-fold, more than enough to pay all of those bills! It is like playing a "divine lottery" in the hopes to get rich quick. Sadly, gullible people give by the millions. What a stark contrast between the early Pentecostals and those of the 21st Century. The first were revolutionaries filled with a holy fire to bring the message "Jesus Saves" to a lost, dying generation. They counted it an honor to give away all and expect nothing in return in order to save a lost soul. Beatings, imprisonment, mocking and even death for the sake of the Gospel were signs of spiritual prosperity for them. Designer clothes, upscale homes, sleek cars, huge bank accounts and living the good life were not measures of spiritual success. Instead, sheep skin and goatskin rags, wandering in the desert, mountains and living in caves and the holes of the earth, suffering and even death for the sake of Christ were evidences of real prosperity for them. Hell feared them. Demons trembled before them. Satan sought to destroy them. Selfless sacrifice was the banner that was raised high over them. Multiple millions were transformed by their message and their authentic lives. The sick were healed, the dead were raised and the sinner was forgiven. What an incredible impact they had. They turned the world upside down. They were an honor to Christ and to the Holy Spirit. What about their 21st Century Counterparts? Their message is "gain is a sign of Godliness." They invite you to give sacrificially (to them) in order to be wealthy. Wear the finest, drive the best, live in the upscale in order to demonstrate to the world that you are blest of God! You can have the GOOD LIFE NOW!" Heaven weeps over them, Hell laughs at them, and the world is lost because of them! They preach "another gospel," which is beamed around the world. Millions are being led astray by their apostasy. Multitudes end up on the trash heap of disillusionment when this false theology does not work. They are blind guides leading the blind. They have disgraced the precious Holy Spirit and His gifts. They mock and blaspheme Him and use His gifts in error. They teeter on the brink of blasphemy. They have trampled under foot the holy legacy given and paid for by the blood of the martyrs. THEY HAVE BETRAYED THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!! THEY HAVE BETRAYED PENTECOST!!! The precious Pentecostal Movement, which has energized the lives of countless millions of Christians, has been hijacked by these false prophets or should I say "profits." They live the life of royalty in their lavish palaces, ranches and great estates. Their garages are full of the most expensive luxury cars and recreational toys. Rolex watches, expensive jewelry and the finest of clothing adorn their bodies. All of this has been made possible because of the "seed faith" gifts of the faithful! What a mockery, what a disgrace! The cry of the hour is, "Oh that YOU would rend the Heavens and come down! Purge the House of God like you did long ago. Overturn the tables of the merchandisers. Drive out the money changers. Restore your church, Lord! Raise up shepherds after your own heart! Return the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit to your church again. Raise up a selfless generation of believers who are willing to give all for the sake of the Gospel." Let our prayer be that of the true prophet of old when he cried out: "O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known."

“WHEN IN HELL, DIG A WELL”

2020-04-30T12:06:00.003-04:00

“WHEN IN HELL, DIG A WELL!”

Have you ever been through an ordeal like a living hell? Have you wondered what to do in such a horrendous situation? Click on link and discover how to come out of it victoriously.

EQUIPPED TO HANDLE ANY STORM

2020-04-03T22:49:00.000-04:00

The child of God has been given a spiritual DNA, which equips him to handle any storm he goes through. Click on link below to view this powerful message.

THERE IS HOPE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM

2020-04-03T22:34:00.001-04:00

There is hope in the midst of the worldwide pandemic. God Is at work! Click on link below for this timely message of hope!

David Wilkerson’ Prophecy About the Pandemic

2020-04-03T12:13:00.001-04:00

A Dream of the Coming Darkness

2020-03-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

A Dream of the Coming Darkness

by Michael Edds.

In the fall of 2004, I had a dream. It was so real and terrifying that I had to get up from my bed.

The following is an account of the dream:

I was visiting my birthplace, a small village in the beautiful Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia. I pulled my car off the road and parked in front of the old Methodist Church.

I got out of the car to stretch my legs. The day was absolutely pristine and picture perfect. The sky was cloudless, the sun bright, and the air fresh and crystal clear.

I was admiring the beautiful flowers growing in people´s yards. Many were busy working in their yards and gardens on such a gorgeous day. There was such peace and serenity.

I turned and looked toward the southeast. I was astonished at what I saw.

A billowing cloud of complete blackness was suddenly approaching the town. It completely blotted out all light and scenery where it advanced and covered. It approached the village limits, which was a river southeast of the community.

I made the comment, “Oh my God, the Darkness has come!” I sensed great evil

and danger in it.

I looked around to see if anyone else saw what I saw. To my amazement, people were oblivious to the approaching wall of darkness. They were still busy working in their yards and around their homes.

I made the statement, “They do not realize what it will be like when the Darkness comes. All of the sun light, beauty of nature and peace will disappear when the Darkness moves in. Everything in their lives will suddenly and drastically change.”

I turned to get into my car to flee the approaching Darkness. All of a sudden, six motorcyclists drove out of the blackness and across the bridge into the

town.

I gasped, “The advance guard of the Darkness has arrived!” These riders were on black motorcycles and dressed in black leather from head to toe.

I jumped into my car as they approached. They slowed down as they reached my car and the leader yelled out, “Don´t you dare leave!”

I locked my car doors as he approached and floored the gas pedal. My tires squealed as I fled. The motorcyclists pursued me and tried to force me off the road.

I swerved into two and caused them to wreck. The rest pursued me for many miles and shot at me.

After some distance, I approached some men working on the road and asked for help or to make a call for me to the police. The cyclist were no longer in sight.

I started to get out of the car but heard a voice from above warning me to not to get out of the car but to drive on. Finally, I realized that I was running out of gas and stopped down the road to refuel.

I pulled up to a gas station and started refueling. The dream ended with me

praying for God´s protection while I refueled.

When I awoke, I was trembling with fear. I got up to settle myself.

The parts of the dream that stood out were:

The Darkness suddenly came upon the land.
Before it came, all was serene, beautiful and peaceful.
No one saw it coming.
An advanced guard came into the community first on a reconnaissance mission.
The Darkness then moved in and totally blotted out all light and beauty. Life drastically changed for people.
I fled for safety.

America is on the threshold of something cataclysmic that will radically change life, as we know it.

A wall of Darkness is about to suddenly fall upon this land.

John 14:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit will tell us of things to come. He warns us in advance to prepare us for what is ahead.

Hebrews 11:7 records, “…Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with Godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household….”

An advance guard of this Darkness is already at work. People are living in a false sense of complacent security.

I believe that the cup of iniquity is full in America, which will unleash divine judgment upon this nation.

Somethings is about to shatter the hardness of this wicked nation´s heart.

God has revealed to me that a Great Awakening is about to burst forth upon the scene.

This Awakening will give America and the world one last chance to repent. Most importantly, it will bring the Bride of Christ together.

Historically, Awakenings have preceded calamity. This could happen again. However, the coming Darkness may actually precede the Final Awakening and be the cause of people turning to God, which would bring about the Awakening.

May God´s people listen to the warning of The Holy Spirit and move with Godly fear to the saving of their households and neighborhoods.

God desires for us to prepare an ark of safety to which people can flee for refuge when disaster comes. Let us listen and quickly move.

Darkness is coming!

2020-02-26T09:57:00.000-05:00

'Wave After Wave of People, Broken Before the Lord': TN Pastor Tells of Revival Sweeping His City

Revival is taking place in Tennessee after churches from various denominations partnered together in prayer and fasting, igniting a move of God's Spirit that has transformed lives across the region.

CBN News has learned more about the revival that's underway in Tennessee involving 1,000 churches across the Volunteer State. It's a part of "Awaken Tennessee", a 30-day prayer and fasting initiative that launched on Jan. 26 and will run through Feb. 23.

As CBN News reported on Monday, churches across Tennessee are fasting and praying for unity, according to Sheldon Livesay, East Tennessee coordinator for Awaken Tennessee.

The event is not about any one church or denomination. It's been described by Pastor John Butler of the East Rogersville Baptist Church in Rogersville as a concentrated prayer effort across the state for true revival in our churches that triggers an awakening in local communities, the state, and the nation.

The initiative started last year when Pastor Dave Clayton of Nashville's Ethos Church was successful in getting 400 churches to come together to pray for every single resident of the city. Awaken Nashville was a huge success, so this year Clayton and other organizers decided to invite churches in the entire state to participate.

According to Livesay, Dove Award-winning singer/songwriters Terry and Barbi Franklin took the idea through their prayer network and also contacted churches across the state to take part in the initiative.

Pastors are reporting their services are exploding with revival services as a result of the Holy Spirit showing up and taking over.

Butler told CBN News in an email that his church decided to join the Awaken Tennessee event and was preparing to host a revival conference with guest revivalist John Avant, president of Life Action Ministries. The Franklins would serve as worship leaders.

The East Rogersville Church launched Awaken TN with multiple churches gathering for a night of praise, prayer, and worship on Sunday, Jan. 26 and then the revival conference was to start the next Sunday morning Feb. 2.

"The week between these two Sundays was filled with prayer in our church. Each weeknight people gathered in homes to pray. It was an intense week of prayer for many of our people. God had been quietly working in many lives, but we had no idea of what He was about to do," Butler wrote.

'Wave After Wave...'

Then Sunday morning came and what happened next astounded everyone, including the pastor.

As the Franklins led the song "10,000 Reasons," "One man sitting on the back row made his way to the altar and began to weep and pray. A host of other men gathered around him and prayed. Before the end of the song, the altar was filled with people. Slowly the altar began to empty, then it would fill again. Wave after wave of people broken before the Lord. Jesus had walked into our midst that morning and set up His throne and He has been here ever since," Butler told CBN News.

The pastor said it was almost an hour before Avant made it to the pulpit.

"The first words from his mouth were that he felt the need to be very careful about what was said at this moment because this was a special moment. John was the pastor of Coggin Avenue Baptist Church in Brownwood, TX in 1995 when revival broke out in that church and several other churches in the city simultaneously as well as on the campus of Howard Payne University. John stated that he had never witnessed this type of movement within a church since those days. We had coordinated our revival conference to coincide with the 50 year anniversary of the Asbury Revival of 1970 and the 25th anniversary of the Brownwood revival of 1995 and now revival had come to East Rogersville Baptist Church that Sunday morning February 2, 2020 in Rogersville, TN," he says.

Butler reports that every meeting at the conference was touched by a move of God.

"Every service for the planned conference was filled with God's presence. People were getting serious about dealing with personal sin and people were coming to Christ for salvation. Thirty-year feuds were made right, relationships have been restored, and many masks had been removed. People made public confessions of sin, bitterness, and laziness about their involvement in God's kingdom activity," the pastor said.

A Move of the Spirit in Multiple Churches

Butler also said the revival didn't just happen in his church.

"As many as six other churches has been faithful in participating in these services. There are Baptists, Methodists, non-denominational churches as well as Pentecostal and Charismatic churches involved. Several pastors have been faithfully supporting these services and we are seeing God begin to move in those churches as well," he noted.

"To date, we have seen around 20 people saved and many of them baptized in one of our services. God is doing a special work among the students of our community," he continued.

Then people told Butler they wanted the meetings to continue, and so they did.

"The conference was supposed to be over Wednesday, February 5, however, the people on that night said 'we need to keep meeting'. So we have kept meeting. We have now entered into our third week of services and based upon last night we are expecting to run at the very least through the end of this week," the pastor said.

"Know that God seems to move in waves. This has proven to be ever so helpful as we progress through these days of revival. We have witnessed these waves. All of the services have been Spirit-filled yet some are just overpowering and that is what we are seeing," Butler told CBN News.

"It's all God! As was stated in the beginning, we are most blessed to be experiencing revival. We pray that revival begins to spread rapidly across our state and nation," he said.

Livesay noted it seems all East Tennessee is seeing unusual moves of God in their services.

"There has been a 50-year history of intense prayer across our region and the last two years we've seen God lead cities of churches together to do prayer walks, crusades, and tent revivals," he told CBN News. "Awaken Tennessee seems it has brought that extra Holy Spirit presence through prayer and fasting that we see exploding in church after church."

Isaiah 17 & Psalm 83 Prophecy: The Destruction of Damascus.

2018-04-10T19:07:00.003-04:00

"ISRAELI HOUSING MINISTER CALLING FOR THIRD TEMPLE TO BE BUILT TO REPLACE AL AQSA MOSQUE!"

2014-07-14T21:57:00.000-04:00

The Israel Minister of Housing and Construction Uri Ariel on Friday expressed his wish to see the construction of a “Third Temple” in place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque that is currently occupying the temple mount. Uri Ariel said “The first Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE, the second Temple in 70 CE, and ever since the Jewish People have been mourning its loss.”
He then went on to say “Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently in place of the temple, despite the temple being much holier than it. Al-Aqsa Mosque is only the third most holy mosque in Islam.” “Now that Israel has once again become a Jewish sovereign state, the desire to rebuild the Temple is growing stronger and strong” he added.

"WARNING.....ONE WORLD RELIGION RISING!!!"

2014-07-05T20:32:00.000-04:00

JAMES ROBISON TO POPE FRANCIS “IN CHRIST WE ARE BROTHERS”

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on May 6, 2014

Lord willing, another time I’ll have more on this as it concerns the rapidly apostatizing charismatic James Robison, so this isn’t meant to be exhaustive. It begins with what I covered here at Apprising Ministries in my 2011 article James Robison and Rick Warren Working to Reverse the Protestant Reformation.
Therein I gave you Robison’s Life Today TV program for Thursday, December 1, 2011. James Robison’s guest was “Father” Jonathan Morris, who is a Parochial Vicar at an historic Roman Catholic church called St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York. In addition, Morris is often a news analyst for the FOX News Channel.
Morris is also author of God Wants You Happy: From Self-Help to God’s Help (GWYH). As we turn now to my personal copy of Morris’ book GWYH, you’ll see below that Rick Warren, arguably one of the most influential pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention, says on the back cover of his good friend’s GWYH:

A significant part of this “transformation” is the reversal of the Protestant Reformation, and the acceptance of the Roman Catholic Church as a Christian denomination, that is well underway within evangelicalism.1 In that Thursday, December 1, 2011 mentioned above, Morris made the following very telling statement:

As evangelicals and Catholics; Christians,… I believe there’s a…there’s a evangelical/Catholic movement that’s going on…

Indeed, there is; and, as you’ll come to see, it’s rooted in charismania. More on that in a moment; but first, you may recall in Under God and Joined with Apostates I told you about Robison’s July 2012 church leadership conference Under God Indivisible (UGI), which featured Word Faith heretics and Roman Catholic spokesmen.
One of them was Jonathan Morris. UGI also happened to contain the name of James Robinson’s latest book Indivisible, which he had just co-wrotten with another apostate Roman Catholic friend, Dr. Jay Richards. To no one’s surprise, it called for evangelicals and Roman Catholics to strive for unity in the Body of Christ.
Fast forward to James Robison’s program for Monday, May 5, 2014 featuring “Bishop” Tony Palmer. From the opening of the program we see a call for unity where there can be none. The Roman Catholic Church anathematized the Gospel and no real Christian has fellowship with faithful Roman Catholics like Pope Francis.
Robison told us that Palmer is “a really truly spirit-filled evangelical from the Anglican Episcopal Church.”2 He then went on to further introduce Palmer informing us that:

he developed a relationship and a friendship with a man who happened to become the Pope, Pope Francis. It is a miracle what God is doing.
I want you to welcome a man that I believe is a part of seeing the prayer of Jesus answered in our day that we become supernaturally perfected in unity — not sameness, unity. (

The two men discuss Tony Palmer’s friendship with his “spiritual father” Pope Francis and how it is that Palmer ended up with the video of Pope Francis you’ll see in just a bit. This is from the official transcript of the show:

James: I really appreciate you. We have been a supporter and an encourager of your work, your mission outreach. Let me just ask you, how in the world did you come to meet the man who is now Pope and actually not only be a friend but remain a friend? Tell us a little bit about that.
Bishop Palmer: It was back in 2006, I was asked to go down to Argentina to work with the Charismatic Catholics because they have quite a Charismatic revival going on within the Catholic church and has been for almost 50 years. So it’s protocol whenever we go into a diocese of another Bishop, we visit the Bishop, ask him if we can work in his diocese. That’s exactly how we met.
When he found out that my wife, being a charismatic Catholic herself, and our children, he thought it was quite entertaining. So he offered a friendship to me immediately. Here is this evangelical Anglican married to a Charismatic Catholic.[Laughter] So I said, “Look, we’re covering all the bases here.” [Laughter] So he offered me a friendship. Two years after that, 2008, I asked if he would be my mentor and a spiritual father to me, and our relationship just deepened from there.

Palmer continues on to mention a personal meeting he had with his friend Pope Francis in late January of this year. Robison is obviously impressed and says:

James: So it wasn’t just a little handshake. He actually saw you right in his apartment?
Bishop Palmer: Yeah, we spent the morning together.
James: That’s amazing!

In their February 25, 2014 report We are brothers,’ Pope stresses in message to Pentecostals the [Roman] Catholic News Agency brought us up to speed concerning the conference Palmer referenced above. It’s the one the Pope was actually addressing in the video clip to follow, which Robison aired yesterday:

Pope Francis’ message was delivered to a meeting of the Fort Worth, Texas-based Kenneth Copeland Ministries by Pentecostal Bishop Tony Palmer, who had recorded it on an iPhone in a Jan. 14 meeting. (source)

Respected online apologetic and discernment work Stand Up for the Truth also added in their piece Pope to Copeland: Catholics and Charismatics must spiritually unite that:

Pope Francis has now sent a video message to Word of Faith father Kenneth Copeland, urging a reconciliation between Catholics and Charismatics.
“The Catholic and Charismatic Renewal is the hope of the Church,” exclaims Anglican Episcopal Bishop Tony Palmer, before a group of cheering followers at the Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Palmer said those words are from the Vatican. Before playing the video message from Pope Francis to Kenneth Copeland, Palmer told the crowd, “When my wife saw that she could be Catholic, and Charismatic, and Evangelical, and Pentecostal, and it was absolutely accepted in the Catholic Church, she said that she would like to reconnect her roots with the Catholic culture. So she did.”
The crowd cheered, as he continued, “Brothers and sisters, Luther’s protest is over. Is yours?”

Even Kenneth Copeland finds this development incredible: Said Copeland, “Heaven is thrilled over this…You know what is so thrilling to me? When we went into the ministry 47 years ago, this was impossible.” (source)

A quick point before I get to the clip below containing the Pope’s message to the Copeland conference of Word Faith heretics. This type of thing is exactly why I’ve written articles like On Contemplative Spirituality and Charismania and why I’ve been warning you about how this type of thing is now rampant within evangelicalism.

For example we can even take this James Robison program with Tony Palmer, who are both charismaniacs. Notice how Palmer shared with the Pope that:

my wife [is] a charismatic Catholic herself, and our children, he thought it was quite entertaining. So he offered a friendship to me immediately. Here is this evangelical Anglican married to a Charismatic Catholic. (source)

Another time, Lord willing, I’ll go over the history of the charismatic movement; but for now, just know that it begins circa 1960 and would spread into the Roman Catholic Church not long after Vatican II ended. Notice again, Palmer’s involvement with it as he tells us:

back in 2006, I was asked to go down to Argentina to work with the Charismatic Catholics because they have quite a Charismatic revival going on within the Catholic church and has been for almost 50 years. (source)

I’ve been speaking to you about because in no uncertain terms we’re told above that what we were to hear from Beth Moore at AN is divine revelation; in other words, “what the Holy Spirit is saying.” And she then said that those of us who oppose false teachers of this phony unity are “scoffers.”

Well, the tragic fact is, the way things are now going, it will be professing Protestant evangelicals who are going to bring persecution down upon Christians like me who will never return to Rome before she would repent and, at the very least, admit her guilt in condemning the Gospel and completely abolish her antichrist papacy.
Now you’re ready for the following mythology from Pope Francis and the sickening apostasy from James Robison, which you’ll witness following the Pope’s blather when Robison says:

James: Pope Francis, let me just say to you that I see Jesus in you; and in Christ we are brothers, we are family. Thank you for speaking the language of love that all may come to know him and love him and love one another.
Tony, that is incredible. I have had a longing in my heart for many years now to see the prayer of Jesus answered that we be one with the Father God through Christ, perfected and sanctified in truth, not divided by it. And then perfected in unity, the supernatural unity Jesus prayed for. I personally feel like this is a step in the right direction — for us to really come to Christ and not be separated brethren, not divide over differences as we see them. We may not even see clearly and we tend to look at our view as the only view and sometimes we don’t even hear truth at all.

THE GREAT REVIVAL OF 1951 - LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

2014-06-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

Speaking directly to the crowd in a tent meeting that was conducted a little over a year after the Lancaster revivals began, George R. Brunk II directly addressed the crowd:

It is thrilling to witness the sea of faces like this. It is challenging. It makes one tremble when it comes to the responsibility of preaching the Word of God. So many people. You come here for something I trust, and I am going to assume you are here for a sincere motive. You’re here because you love God. You want the truth from God’s Word. I want each of you here who acknowledge Jesus Christ to pray for the progress of this service. This is God’s work and not the work of man.

Our policy and our declared position is that God shall have the glory for every victory won. These campaigns have let no human thing touch it, because God shall be praised for every blessing that comes to it. And let’s look to God tonight and expect from him the blessing that we need. I like to have that ready and, well, and clear response from you as I ask you a few questions. I want you to come back at me with a clear and ready response. With a yes or no, either one, I’d like for everybody to respond—yes or no.

Do you believe that the devil is against this revival?

Audience: “Yes.”

All right. Do you believe that God is for it, not only this revival, but for the cause of revival—Yes or no?

Audience: “Yes.”

Thank you. Are you looking in simple faith to God tonight for the blessing that we need—Yes or no?

Audience: “Yes.”

Now the vital question comes last, and I want you to give me the answer, yes or no. Will you be obedient to the Spirit of God as he speaks to you tonight—now come on!

Audience: “Yes.”

Thank you.

I wish that we might be in prayer not only for this meeting but for others, for other evangelists around the country and around the world who are preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe that God is making a visitation to the nation and to the world today, that there is something unique about it. It is remarkable. Something is happening. The Spirit of God is moving across the countryside. ^[1]

The Spirit of God did indeed move across the countryside. In the spring of 1951, a group of believers from the small, semi-rural community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, started a series of prayer meetings that culminated into a series of revival meetings with attendance of over 15,000 people! From Lancaster the revival spread to several states and even into Canada. The revival was distinctive for speaking out strongly against sin and spiritual complacency. Its influence affected the community and enacted lasting change in people’s lives that is still being testified to today.

Extraordinary Prayer

Almost without exception, every great work of God has had its starting place in the fervent, effectual prayer of God’s people. Jonathan Edwards, the man God used in the Great Awakening called these special prayer groups “extraordinary prayer”. Jonathan Edwards even published a book encouraging this type of prayer in his day. The long title of his little book was:

A humble attempt to promote the agreement and union of God’s people throughout the world in extraordinary prayer for a revival of religion and the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth, according to Scriptural promises and prophecies of the last time.

What Edwards meant by “extraordinary prayer” was special prayer meetings that happen outside and beyond our normal everyday prayers. He spoke of a specific gathering of people crying out to God for His outpouring and change in their lives.
As I was digging around at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, I found testimony of this type of “exceptional prayer” powerfully demonstrated in the Lancaster revival of 1951. In an old 1951 article from the Gospel Herald entitled The Lancaster Revival, a clear and challenging witness to the power of prayer surfaced.

The Prayer Meeting

Entire revival tent praying on their knees

Much like the spiritual condition during the Welch revival in the early 1900s, Lancaster County was an area that feared God and had a respect for His Word, but underneath this saintly veneer the lives of many people suffered from extremes of both religious formalism and licentious carnality. However, a few praying believers moved by God, developed a burden for things to change. Maurice E. Lehman, who was one of the pastors of the East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church, tells the story of how one of these “extraordinary prayer” groups started and grew into the Lancaster revival. Writing a testimony of the revivals just days after they had happened, Lehman reported to the Gospel Herald this inspiring account.

One great factor in the success of this program was that the saints of God prayed. On Good Friday of this year [1951] we had a special day of fasting and prayer at the Vine Street Mennonite Church. There, it was announced that we would have special prayer meetings once a month besides our regular prayer meetings. The next special prayer meeting was held on a Sunday afternoon at the East Chestnut Street church. The meeting was well attended and many prayers were offered and tears flowed freely. We prayed for revival and for lost souls. This type of meeting was followed by many more.

Daily Prayer for Revival

Someone in the prayer meeting suggested that there should be an early morning prayer meeting. So a meeting was called from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. The early morning meetings began in a large Sunday-school room. The Lord poured out His Spirit upon us. As the numbers increased, we moved to the main room of the church. In one of the morning meetings Bro. Brunk said, ‘So far in our prayer meetings we have been observing the second part of James 5:16 that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I think tomorrow morning we ought to consider the part of James 5:16 where it says “confess your faults one to another”’. Bro. Stoner Krady said, ‘Why wait till tomorrow? Let’s start right now’. At that point, liberty was given to the group for confession. People confessed many sins and praised God.

Confession of Sins

Many prayer meetings that followed had a period for confession. Many sins of the spirit were confessed and tears were shed as the Holy Spirit searched our hearts. The special early prayer meetings were in session each morning from May 21 to July 22 [1951]. We believe that it was prayer that brought the revival and it will take prayer to continue it. Bro. Brunk said the early morning prayer meeting on July 22 was the largest prayer meeting he ever saw.

Others Prayed Also

One cannot attribute the revival alone to the prayer meeting held in the church. We are sure that many aged people and others who could not attend throughout the conference were also praying for such an event. During the meetings, Bro. Brunk received many letters from different parts of the world and people said they were praying for the meetings. Since we see what prayer will do for a church in such a short time, we are made more responsible to keep praying. ^[2]

George Brunk’s daughter Barbara Brunk Gascho, who was a little girl at the time remembered the prayer meetings 50 years later saying,

As a very young child, I was keenly aware of the pledge to prayer that many persons made weeks before each crusade was scheduled to begin. The first service would take place and our family and the staff would wait in anticipation to see if people would come. People WOULD come!^[3]

Two Willing Vessels

A few years before the Lancaster Revivals, George R. Brunk II and his brother Lawrence were coming back from a revival meeting that they had concluded in Richmond, Virginia. Their sister Katie reports that the trip home was one they would remember for a long time. She wrote in her book Revival Fires that their “hearts throbbed with a newly awakened zeal and a greater concern for the lost as they began to recognize the challenge which the world offered.” Katie reports that after this Lawrence just could not let the vision go. Lawrence had actually been dreaming and praying about this for a long time. Eventually Lawrence dared to consider the idea of stepping out in faith and purchasing the tent, trailer, and equipment trusting that God would provide an evangelist. ^[4]

Lawrence Brunk . . . asked the Lord to give him as many souls as there were chickens. He promised God that if he could make $5,000 clear, he would place the entire sum into the needed evangelistic equipment.

One afternoon Lawrence Brunk “stood in the midst of his poultry flock of five thousand broilers and asked the Lord to give him as many souls as there were chickens. He promised God that if he could make $5,000 clear, he would place the entire sum into the needed evangelistic equipment. By 1951, Lawrence was surprised bountifully by not only the $5,000 profit, but the astounding sum of $35,000! Lawrence placed this sum into expensive tents and traveling equipment, and soon the first revival campaign began in Lancaster.”^[5]
In an early sermon from 1951, Lawrence looked out over the people sitting in the tent meeting and noticed the similarity between the “flocks”. After he told the congregation (and apologized for the comparison!) he blessed the Lord for the fulfillment of the vision.

George R. Brunk II

George and Lawrence’s father George Brunk I was the bishop of their conference and was a godly and a powerful influence in his day. The boys were raised on fiery preaching with clear denunciation of sin. George R. Brunk II had been called to preach from a young age.
Without any strings pulled by his father, George R. Brunk II was ordained by lot when he was only 22 years old. These ordinations by lot were done by placing the names of the selected men in a hymnal, which was then shuffled with other hymnals without names. The hymnbooks would then be chosen by the men at random. Each man selected a book, and whoever had the chosen lot in his hymnal would become the next minister. George remembers that before the ordination he had a dream in which it was revealed to him which book he should choose. At the ordination, George selected that book and was ordained the same day.

The Decision

While Lawrence was busy shopping for tent equipment, George was teaching Bible at Eastern Mennonite College. George remembers getting an urgent telephone call from Lawrence in the middle of class one afternoon informing him that he was about to buy the revival tent and needed to know a definite answer—yes or no. He asked George the question: If he bought the tent, would George come and do the preaching? George said yes, and their lives—as well as the lives of countless others—were changed forever. Once on the road, reminiscent of the Ira D. Sankey and D. L. Moody revivals, Lawrence led the singing while George did most of the preaching.

East Chestnut Street

Once George and Lawrence got to Lancaster, the prayer meeting was already strongly underway. The overwhelming response of the prayer meeting resulted in an opening night attendance at East Chestnut Street of over 2,000! By Sunday night, crowds of over 7,000 were reported.^[6] It was said that many were turned away because of the congestion in the city.
In the face of such an overwhelming turnout, George Brunk did not succumb to the temptation of merely tickling ears. Local resident Irene Deiter remembers that first crusade. She said that George started right off challenging the sleeping Lancaster community with, “The people in Lancaster County keep their fence rows trimmed and trained better than they keep their children trimmed and trained.” She remarked, “When I heard him say that, I knew he was going to preach the Word—and he did.”^[7]
Maurice E. Lehman told Gospel Herald:

The Evangelist preached against sin for many nights at the beginning of the revival. This preaching brought conviction of hidden sin of the flesh and spirit. Many church members confessed sin and ‘got right’ with God. Brother George Brunk made the statement that this is a cleanup program as well as an evangelistic campaign.… We who have witnessed this great revival can say we will long remember it as one of the greatest events in our day.

More Eyewitnesses

Another eyewitness who gave a detailed description of the meetings said:

Most of us who are accustomed to sitting in our regular Mennonite services have a new experience when we witness those who walk forward in response to the invitation. For three nights, as I attended the meetings in my home community, I sat awed. One, two, three persons soon walked forward. The number mounted—increased so, that I was unable to watch the whole proceeding. I saw friends, relatives, and others walk to the front.

There were calls for additional personal workers. The evening hour became late, 10:00 p.m., and the meetings were still going strong, although some parents with children had wended their way out of the tent.

As personal workers dealt with those seeking help, opportunity was given for those who wished to give their testimony for their Lord. There was no difficulty whatever in obtaining witnesses. As those in the prayer room found peace with God they were urged to testify before the large audience.

Plain Witness

I sat in my seat entranced, tears flowing down my cheeks at times, as I entered into the joys and concerns of those who spoke. There was the seventy-year-old Christian who proclaimed his love for Christ. The very young, the youthful, the middle-aged, and the silver-haired gave their testimonies. To be sure, no golden-tongued oratory appeared. These were largely people who knew not what it means to stand before others to witness. They stumbled in their speech; they walked timidly; many did not say all they wanted to say, for one forgets on such occasions.

Testimonies continued while those in the prayer room filed out to the platform. I was amazed to see an Amish man walk to the microphone. He stumbled a little in his speech, said something about finding his way, and then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He handed them to George, who was standing nearby guiding the folks to the microphone. The cigarettes were plopped on the pulpit, and the joyful man completed his testimony. Another cigarette ‘sucker’, as George put it, found his release. Soon another speaker was telling his story.

Overflow crowd

Confession of Sin

It was evident that many Christians had now really found their Saviour meaningful. An approximate ten-minute period produced the following: A relative of mine, in his halting English, told of the many children he has and how he wants them to know Jesus Christ as Saviour. Next, two young girls sang their praises. Then came a young man who had been a Sunday school superintendent in a large church for several years. He said that he had malice in his heart, that he wanted to confess it. He had been influenced to make this confession, he explained, because his pastor had made a similar confession several days before, and that certainly he too should confess if his pastor could do it.

It was after eleven when the meetings were dismissed, although generally the huge tent was nearly empty, except for those who lingered, some with loved ones who had found themselves anew, others with acquaintances, all marveling at this thing which had come to pass.

Marriages Put Back Together

One evening I saw a young man whom I have known for twenty years suddenly walk out from his position to go to the front where those seeking help were standing. In a moment, he returned—with a small, sleeping child on his shoulder. I soon understood what he had done. He had obtained the child from the arms of his sister and her unfaithful husband so that they could go into the prayer room unhindered. Soon the couple stood before the microphone asking for prayers, and the young man, known to be unfaithful to his wife, pledged a new start.

On another evening, previous to the evening which I attended, the evangelist George had given the invitation, and the usual numbers walked to the front. Suddenly, a man and a woman, both of whom had walked down different aisles, raced across the front and threw themselves upon each other’s shoulders. Neither had known the other was present, and, you see, they were man and wife separated for months.^[8]

Overflow—to the Old Airport

Due to the overwhelming congestion, the city revival could no longer fit on East Chestnut Street; so they moved adjacent to the old Lancaster Airport and stretched out yet another tent. To pull this off, volunteers got busy and erected a primary electric line with a transformer for the electricity, and 500 feet of the newly designed plastic piping for the water. Wood was borrowed from the local lumberyard to build the stage and the wood benches.

Effect on the Community

The revivals had a significant effect on the community. Michael D. Beckler, who was personally affected by one of the revivals that spread from these days said of his community:

Our community was never the same after that. Some of the Christians who recommitted their lives to Christ after this dropped whatever their life’s vocation was prior to that and went into ministry…I will never forget the spiritual fervor that gripped the community. People were praising God all day long wherever they were working. I can remember a cousin of mine saying that the grocery store where he worked was like attending church all day long, because all that these new converts and recommitted Christians talked about all day long was the Lord and how He had changed their life.”^[9]

Paul A. Neuenschwander, one of the volunteer electricians for the tent, mentioned his surprise of how many different groups of Christians were coming seeking revival.

The six-week crusade opened on Sunday evening with the large tent nearly filled. Most area Mennonite churches were represented, regardless of the conference affiliation; and non-conference churches attended as well. It was the first time a Mennonite sponsored meeting attracted so many evangelical groups such as Christian Missionary Alliance, Nazarene, Brethren, and many others. The general public was affected. It was easy to start a spiritual conversation with most anyone on the street or in a place of business during these weeks.^[10]

As God poured out His Spirit again in Lancaster, the Lancaster Airport site saw an unprecedented turnout for such a small area. The Sunday evening service of July 15, 1951 had more than 15,000 in attendance! This was just seven weeks after the meetings began. During the campaign, over 1,500 people had publicly confessed their sins, made decisions to follow Christ, or reconsecrated their lives.

The two tents to the right were purchased before the first campaign began and were used at Lancaster. During the campaign at Souderton, in August 1951, the large tent to the left was purchased and also set up. This tent can seat 5,000 people.

Real Change

Ford Berg, writing of the change in peoples’ lives said,

An outward indication of the effectiveness of the meetings was demonstrated by Mennonite farmers who plowed up their fields of tobacco. Others threw cigarettes, pipes, whiskey, playing cards, jewelry, and other items which they felt had been a hindrance to their lives into an offering rack marked “Offering for Baal.” ^[11]

Gospel Herald records that the wood crate pictured in front of the Lancaster airport revival tent [picture on front cover] was used “as a receptacle into which people threw pulp and other sinful articles.”

On the Road—Spread to West of Philadelphia

Shortly after the unprecedented outpouring in Lancaster, the Brunk brothers headed to a community west of Philadelphia, and on July 29th started a series of meetings in the Franconian area. The church there could have just tried to catch the wave of excitement and ride on the coattails of the Lancaster revival. However, the praying men and women there knew what real revival would cost. They knew it needed a church that would prevail in prayer. Writing to Gospel Herald right after the revival tents had left, Paul M. Ledrach tells the story.

The revival in Franconia Conference did not begin July 29, the first night of the campaign, nor did it end September 3, 1951. Rather, it was during those days that the revival fires were poured out in this community. The revival began long ago as brethren individually prayed for a revival in the Church. The five weeks of meetings were but the beginning of the working of the power of God in answer to these prayers. And now that the three huge tents have gone from the 17-acre field one mile west of Souderton on route 113, the revival is not over. It continues, and the Lord alone knows what the outcome will be. At least Franconian Conference will never be the same.

In many revival meetings it is necessary first of all to build attendance, interest, and convictions. Not so in this campaign! From the very first thousands attended, souls were saved, sins were confessed, and people gained Christian victory and assurance.

The crowds attending the services were large. They ranged from 2,500 on Monday and Friday evenings, to 10,000 to 12,000 on Sunday evenings and the closing nights of the campaign. Large crowds, however, are not the heart of the revival. The large crowds were only symptoms that something was happening…The Gospel was being preached in entirety and power…The Holy Spirit was convicting men of sin…Many were accepting Christ as Savior…Many were repenting and confessing sin…many were surrendering life in a new way to Christ. People were beginning to understand and experience the glory of the Lord in their hearts and lives!...God was visiting His people.

An eyewitness from the revivals reported that there was genuine repentance of sins and changed lives. Writing about a particularly hardened group of young men that were converted, it was recorded,

In the Franconia Conference there had been for years a gang of young Mennonite boys who delighted in reckless driving and daring stunts, much to the chagrin of other Christians and fellow church members. They were remarkably converted at the meetings and now engage in prayer meetings and Christian work instead of the former “rough stuff.”

Lasting Testimony

Willard Bergey, who was one of the “Franconian cowboys” that were converted at the meetings, said of his own conversion over 50 years later:

“I went on doing the worldly things that I was doing, going to shows, carnivals, and driving my car in a way that was unfit—to shame. This was what gave us the name ‘Franconian Cowboys’. I also was doing many things to please myself. Now, all at once I saw myself as an ungodly person. And thank God, He did a wonderful change in my heart”… “In August of 1951 the Brunk Brothers came to Franconia. After the meetings were going a couple of weeks, we decided to give it a try to see what these meetings were about. The Spirit of God kept drawing us back again and again. Finally one night, as George was giving the invitation, my heart was filled with conviction and condemnation of my sin. My head was down and the tears were flowing, but I didn’t have the courage to go forward. A brother put his arm around me and said, ‘Would you like me to go up front with you?’ So I went, and there on the shavings in the prayer tent, I cried out to God in repentance. God showed me the sinfulness of my heart. As I repented, God did a miraculous work in my heart. I was dead in sin, and now I was alive. I was blind, but now I see. My night had turned to day. God changed my heart in a moment.” ^[12]

From Franconia the revivals quickly overflowed into Ohio, Indiana, and Canada. The outpouring was moving beyond denominational boundaries, and the Brunk brothers purchased four semi trucks to haul the equipment in an attempt to meet the demands. A church magazine reported in July 1952:

During the winter of 1951-52 the Brunk brothers held two series of meetings in Florida, one in a Mennonite center, and the other in a non-Mennonite location. Calls to conduct revivals have come from many states, and meetings are now booked for a couple of years in advance. Many requests have been turned down. ^[13]

TIME Magazine

By August of 1952 the revival caught the attention of TIME Magazine which reported:

“This week, after 14 months of evangelizing through the U.S. and Canada, the Brunks are preaching the word in Goshen, Ind., to crowds of nearly 3,000 a night. At their previous stop, Waterloo, Ont., attendance was even larger: 105,000 during four weeks of steady preaching (including 1,500 who made formal ‘decisions for Christ’). Local Canadian pastors were so pleased with the results that some canceled their own services to let their congregations hear the Brunks preach.”

At their first meeting in Lancaster, Pa., Lawrence led the singing and George gave his maiden sermon, a vigorous appeal to elect for Christ and escape damnation, a topic which Mennonites have always stressed. The first night more than 2,000 jammed their way into the tent. Dozens were converted. Before the week was out, the Brunks had to order a new tent. Said Preacher George, ‘We preach a fundamental brand of religion, but we aren’t fundamentalists. We aren’t modernists, either. You don’t have to be one or the other.’ ^[14]

Blessing to the Local Church

In a personal interview toward the end of his life, George R. Brunk II was asked if he sought the support of the local body of Christ. Brunk reported that in every crusade except one he had the full consent and support of the local body. Instead of being in competition with the local churches as some para-church ministries are today, the Brunk brothers worked with local pastors to assure that new converts found essential, needed discipleship.
Remembering the effect on the local church, one magazine reported:

“Obviously, the effect of the revivals in the local churches is profound. In the large Franconia Mennonite Church, near Philadelphia, for example, in a regular Sunday morning service, over 130 responded to an invitation to confession of sin and reconsecration. Significantly, this was the first invitation ever given in that church. In another church nearby there were 85 confessions and testimonies on a Sunday morning during an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Untold other miracles, including many acts of restitution, known only by God, prevailed and still continue. ^[15]

This past August, 2008, I held a personal interview with Luke Horst, an 83-year-old retired Mennonite bishop and church elder of this time. He said that he remembers all the elders and bishops sitting up on the platform during the meetings. He remembers that at the Lancaster Airport meetings, in order to avoid the tendency of preaching a Gospel-lite message, early services were conducted that taught on biblical doctrines and dared to draw lines, even on controversial issues.

Not Meant to Entertain or Amuse

Unlike many modern church gatherings where keeping the attention of the people is carefully choreographed and orchestrated by rock bands, videos, and even “spirit-dancing”, the Lancaster revivals consisted of simple, heartfelt gospel singing and anointed preaching on subjects such as sin, hell, and getting right with God. John E. Sharp in his book Gathering at the Hearth reports what the meetings were like:

What are the services like? There are daily prayer meetings, some preceding the evening meetings which begin at 7:30. Lawrence opens the meetings by having the audience sing many hymns and gospel songs. The a cappella, congregational-type singing seems never to fail in lifting the spirits of those present.

After a short devotional period and further singing, George begins his sermons. He speaks on such subjects as God’s Barriers to Hell, From the Glory of Jericho to the Disgrace of Ai, and The Sins of the Flesh and the Spirit. The sermons generally average an hour in length. After the sermon the invitation is given. By this time the audience has heard much direct preaching, some which is new, and much which is familiar. The speaker draws his illustrations from life, from children, and practical experiences, all of which have tremendous effect in leading people to make decisions for Christ.

Supported by God

In the sermon “How the Revivals Began”, preached in August of 1951, George Brunk said that when he and Lawrence began, they determined that their provisions would be totally met on faith. George recalled that when they were dreaming about a real revival crusade, one of the things that had grieved them about the meetings they had been to was all of the time spent begging for money. “We thought it a terrible pity that a campaign in which the Gospel is preached had to be spoiled by begging people for money.” The Brunk brothers took an offering, and sometimes even that was considered scandalous. However, through the years they went into each new area on faith, with no promise of how things would work out.

Since Then

The blessing that came to Lancaster County during the revival is still felt today. As I have talked to people who were alive during the Lancaster revivals, even if they themselves are not too keen on the idea of revival, I found that they still admit that what happened here in 1951 was a real move of God.
Since the 1950s Lancaster County, along with many other areas around the country, was “sifted like wheat”, especially during the latter part of the 1960s. Divisions separated the county into various camps, ranging from extremely liberal to extremely conservative. Driving down a road in Lancaster County today, you could see one parking lot filled with people with plain dress, all coming into church on their horse and buggies. Then on the other side, you could see another church with a conspicuous lack of modest dress, all on their way in to hear their female preacher expound on the need to have toleration with the new homosexual members. What is surprising—and sad—is that both of these churches share the same denomination name on the front of their church buildings. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Ironically, both of these extremes have tended to drop the cause of revival. Sadly, today many ultra conservative churches have actually grown fearful of revival meetings and foreign missions. Likewise, liberal churches can hardly dream of a church-life that experiences daily prayer meetings, speaking directly about sin, or encouraging separation from the world. Both extremes make the Church of Jesus Christ saltless in today’s world.

Just Men

Inevitably, the Brunk brothers made their share of mistakes, but they were just men. Moreover, because they were just men there is an important lesson to be learned from them, as well as all other historic revivals. Whether it be the revivals under John Wesley, the Great Awakening under Jonathan Edwards, or the Welsh revivals of 1904, there is an important lesson to be learned.
Throughout history, there is no doubt that God has used willing vessels to accomplish His will. However, when we look at them in hindsight, many inconsistencies emerge. Even in the Bible, looking at the revivals under Asa and Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles, chapters 15 through 21, we could look from the outside at these mighty works of God and see their mistakes, their unfinished business, their failures in later life, and conclude that God really never did anything in their day. However, I believe that doing so is an insult to God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
It is notable that after all the mighty works that God did through King Asa during his time, God still took note that the work was incomplete. However, what is even more surprising is that even after all of Asa’s blatant mistakes, God still recognized the good that was done. “But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days” (2 Chron 15:17).

Lessons from The Lancaster Revival—and All Revivals

I have found that when looking back at the mighty works that God has done throughout history, problems can arise from two extremes: both focusing on the failures of revival and ignoring them. For example, to use their failures as an excuse not to go further and pursue those “high places”, by reasoning that God will send revival without us worrying about such things as “high places” is a big mistake. On the other hand, to cancel out what God has done in history because we now notice their imperfections, is both a disservice to the previous work of God, as well as a great hindrance in God revealing to us our own blinding inconsistencies today.
No doubt about it—when God’s people repent of their sins, get right with God, and pray—God sends revival. And when He does, the lives of men change and God alone is glorified. Men will fail, movements will fail, and denominations will fail. Even whole nations will fail, but the promise of God stands—“ If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron 7:13-14).

Do it Again, Lord!

As I studied the Lancaster revival, my heart rejoiced. This revival clearly demonstrated the enormous power of a praying people and willing servants. No one personality stood out as deserving all the credit—not even George R. Brunk II. It became clear to me that when God has a praying people who are serious about their sins things begin to happen. I believe that Bro. Maurice E. Lehman, the praying pastor at the beginning of the Lancaster revival, encapsulated the secret of the Lancaster revivals, as well as any other revivals when he said —“We believe that it was prayer that brought the revival and it will take prayer to continue it.” My prayer is, “Lord, please do it again! Please do it again here in Lancaster County, and across the world!”

"A LETTER DETAILING THE HORRORS OF HELL"

2014-05-01T22:55:00.000-04:00

"And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment,

and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me,

and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water,

and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

~ Luke 16:23-24

"A Letter From Hell"

Dear Mom,

I am writing to you from the most horrible place that I have ever seen,

and more horrible than you could ever imagine.

It is BLACK here,

so DARK that I cannot even see all the souls

I am constantly bumping into.

I only know they are people like myself

from the blood curdling SCREAMS.

My voice is gone from my own screaming

as I writhe in pain and suffering.

I cannot even cry for help anymore,

and it is no use anyway,

there is no one here that has any compassion

at all for my plight.

The PAIN and suffering

in this place is absolutely unbearable.

It so consumes my every thought,

I could not know if there were any other sensation to come upon me.

The pain is so severe, it never stops day or night.

The turning of days does not appear because of the darkness.

What may be nothing more than minutes

or even seconds seems like many endless years.

The thought of this suffering continuing without end

is more than I can bear.

My mind is spinning more and more with each passing moment.

I feel like a madman,

I cannot even think clearly under this load of confusion.

I fear I am losing my mind.

The FEAR is just as bad as the pain,

May be even worse.

I don’t see how my predicament could be any worse than this,

but I am in constant fear that it MIGHT be at any moment.

My mouth is parched,

and will only become more so.

It is so dry that my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth.

I recall that old preacher saying that’s what Jesus Christ endured

as he hung on that old rugged cross.

There is no relief,

not so much as a single drop of water

to cool my swollen tongue.

To add even more misery to this place of torment,

I know that I deserve to be here.

I am being punished justly for my deeds.

The punishment, the pain, the suffering

is no worse than I justly deserve,

but admitting that now will never ease the anguish

that burns eternally in my wretched soul.

I hate myself for committing the sins to earn such a horrible fate,

I hate the devil that deceived me so that I would end up in this place.

And as much as I know it is an unspeakable wickedness

to think such a thing,

I hate the very God that sent his only begotten Son

to spare me this torment.

I can never blame the Christ that suffered

and bled and died for me,

but I hate him anyway.

I cannot even control my feelings

that I know to be wicked, wretched and vile.

I am more wicked and vile now

than I ever was in my earthly existence.

Oh, If only I had listened.

Any earthly torment would be far better than this.

To die a slow agonizing death from Cancer;

To die in a burning building as the victims of the 9-11 terror attacks.

Even to be nailed to a cross

after being beaten unmercifully like the Son of God;

But to choose these over my present state I have no power.

I do not have that choice.

I now understand that this torment and suffering

is what Jesus Bore for me.

I believe that he suffered,

bled and died to pay for my sins,

but his suffering was not eternal.

After three days he arose in victory over the grave.

Oh, I do SO believe, but alas, it is too late.

As the old invitation song says that I remember hearing so many times,

I am “One Day Too Late”.

We are ALL believers in this terrible place,

but our faith amounts to NOTHING.

It is too late.

The door is shut.

The tree has fallen, and here shall it lay.

In HELL. Forever lost.

No Hope, No Comfort, No Peace, No Joy.

There will never be any end to my suffering.

I remember that old preacher as he would read

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever:

And they have no rest day nor night”

And that is perhaps the worst thing about this terrible place.

I REMEMBER.

I remember the church services.

I remember the invitations.

I always thought they were so corny, so stupid, so useless.

It seemed I was too “tough” for such things.

I see it all different now, Mom,

but my change of heart matters nothing at this point.

I have lived like a fool,

I pretended like a fool, I died like a fool,

and now I must suffer the torments and anguish of a fool.

Oh, Mom,

how I miss so very much the comforts of home.

Never again will I know your tender caress across my fevered brow.

No more warm breakfasts or home-cooked meals.

Never again will I feel the warmth of the fireplace

on a frosty winter’s night.

Now the fire engulfs not only this perishing body

wracked with pain beyond compare,

but the fire of the wrath of an Almighty God

consumes my very inner being with an anguish

that cannot be properly described in any mortal language.

I long to just stroll through a lush green meadow in the springtime

and view the beautiful flowers,

stopping to take in the fragrance of their sweet perfume.

Instead I am resigned to the burning smell of brimstone, sulphur,

and a heat so intense that all other senses simply fail me.

Oh, Mom,

as a teenager I always hated having to listen to the fussing

and whining of the little babies in church, and even at our house.

I thought they were such an inconvenience to me,

such an irritation.

How I long just to see for a brief moment one of those innocent little faces.

But there are no babies in Hell, Mom.

There are no Bibles in Hell, dearest mother.

The only scriptures inside the charred walls of the damned

are those that ring in my ears

hour after hour, moment after miserable moment.

They offer no comfort at all, though,

and only serve to remind me of what a fool I have been.

Were it not for the futility of them Mom,

you might otherwise rejoice to know

that there is a never ending prayer meeting here in Hell.

No matter,

there is no Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf.

The prayers are so empty, so dead.

They amount to nothing more than cries for mercy

that we all know will never be answered.

Please warn my brothers Mom.

I was the eldest, and thought I had to be “cool”.

Please tell them that no one in Hell is cool.

Please warn all my friends, even my enemies,

lest they come also to this place of torment.

As terrible as this place is, Mom,

I see that it is not my final destination.

As Satan laughs at all of us here,

and as multitudes join us continually in this feast of misery,

we are constantly reminded that some day in the future,

we will all be summoned individually

to appear before The Judgment Throne of Almighty God.

God will show us our eternal fate written in the books

next to all of our wicked works.

We will have no defense,

no excuse, and nothing to say

except to confess the justice of our damnation

before the supreme judge of all the earth.

Just before being cast into our final destination of torment,

the Lake of Fire,

we will have to look upon the face of him

who willingly suffered the torments of hell

that we might be delivered from them.

As we stand there in his holy presence

to hear the pronouncement of our damnation,

you will be there Mom to see it all.

Please forgive me for hanging my head in shame,

as I know I will not be able to bear to look upon your face.

You will already be conformed into the image of the Saviour,

and I know it will be more than I can stand.

I would love to leave this place and join you and so many others

I have known for my few short years on earth.

But I know that will never be possible.

Since I know I can never escape the torments of the damned,

I say with tears, with a sorrow and deep despair

that can never be completely described,

I never want to see any of you again.

Please don’t ever join me here.

In eternal Anguish,

Johnny

Condemned and Lost Forever

GOG/MAGOG (RUSSIA) PROPHECY FULFILLMENT NEAR

2014-04-29T21:15:00.000-04:00

EZEKIEL 38 IS NEARING THE TIME OF PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT. MAGOG (RUSSIA) HAS HOOKS IN HER JAWS AND IS BEING PULLED SOUTH IN ORDER TO ATTACK ISRAEL AS THE PROPHET EZEKIEL HAS PROPHESIED. THIS VIDEO GIVES GREAT INSIGHT INTO RUSSIA'S RECENT MILITARY MOVES IN THE UKRAINE AND AROUND THE WORLD.

"WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE?"

2013-05-02T19:41:00.003-04:00


WHO IS ON the LORD´S SIDE?



by David Wilkerson

"Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the
Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi
gathered themselves together unto him" (Exodus 32:26).

How would God crush the corruption in Israel? Who would He
choose to be His instruments in a time of evil? Would angels
come down and execute righteous judgment? Aaron and his
sons had already corrupted themselves so who would God raise
up to shine forth as His soldiers of holiness?

Of all people, He chose the sons of Levi-sons of that murderer
who, with his brother Simeon, had caused Jacob´s family to be
shamed before the heathen. Simeon and Levi each took a sword
and slew Shechem for raping their sister Dinah. They also killed
his father Hamor and then took their sheep, oxen and donkeys,
their wealth, and their wives and children.

Oh, the matchless grace of God-to choose the most unworthy,
the weakest of them all-to be His instruments. "All the sons of
Levi gathered themselves together unto him. . . . And the children
of Levi did according to the word of Moses" (Exodus 32: 26, 28).

Perhaps there was something deep within them that said, "We
will not fail God as our father did! We will not bring reproach on
the name of our God; we will step out and take our stand with
the Lord!"

Moses had promised them, "God will reward you if you consecrate
yourself and take a stand among your family, friends and brothers"
(see Exodus 32:29). And God did reward them with a semi-priestly
order called the Levites, who were given to the service of God´s house.

Being on the Lord´s side is taking His sword and using it to combat
the forces of unbelief, putting down all doubts and fears. It means
standing true to God and His Word no matter what the crowd does;
no matter how faithless our friends become; no matter how worldly
our dearest loved ones are. We must step out and declare, "I am
on the Lord´s side! I come out against all attacks on the majesty
and faithfulness of our God!"

Pentagon May Court-Martial Christians for Sharing Their Faith in Military

2013-05-01T22:25:00.001-04:00

No First Amendment right of free speech for U.S. soldiers!

The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: "Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense...Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis...”.

The statement, released to Fox News, follows a Breitbart News report on Obama administration Pentagon appointees meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein to develop court-martial procedures to punish Christians in the military who express or share their faith.

(From our earlier report: Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and says Christians--including chaplains--sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of “treason,” and of committing an act of “spiritual rape” as serious a crime as “sexual assault.” He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are “enemies of the Constitution.”)

Being convicted in a court martial means that a soldier has committed a crime under federal military law. Punishment for a court martial can include imprisonment and being dishonorably discharged from the military.

So President Barack Obama’s civilian appointees who lead the Pentagon are confirming that the military will make it a crime--possibly resulting in imprisonment--for those in uniform to share their faith. This would include chaplains—military officers who are ordained clergymen of their faith (mostly Christian pastors or priests, or Jewish rabbis)--whose duty since the founding of the U.S. military under George Washington is to teach their faith and minister to the spiritual needs of troops who come to them for counsel, instruction, or comfort.

This regulation would severely limit expressions of faith in the military, even on a one-to-one basis between close friends. It could also effectively abolish the position of chaplain in the military, as it would not allow chaplains (or any service members, for that matter), to say anything about their faith that others say led them to think they were being encouraged to make faith part of their life. It’s difficult to imagine how a member of the clergy could give spiritual counseling without saying anything that might be perceived in that fashion.

In response to the Pentagon’s plans, retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is now executive vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC), said on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning:

It’s a matter of what do they mean by "proselytizing." ...I think they’ve got their defintions a little confused. If you’re talking about coercion that’s one thing, but if you’re talking about the free exercise of our faith as individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, especially for the chaplains, they I think the worst thing we can do is stop the ability for a soldier to be able to exercise his faith.”

FRC has launched a petition here which has already collected over 30,000 signatures, calling on Secretary Hagel is stop working with Weinstein and his anti-Christian organization to develop military policy regarding religious faith.

**UPDATE**
The FRC petition has now exceeded more than 40,000 signatures at the time of this update.

Breitbart News legal columnist Ken Klukowski is senior fellow for religious liberty with the Family Research Council and on faculty at Liberty University School of Law.