Great Revival or Great falling away or Both?

I have been leaning in that idea as well.

A great falling away, the hearts of many will wax cold but the TRUE church will see a Great Power and Love of God that it's never seen before.

Can we have a revival and a falling away at the same time?

Though this seem like a paradox, I believe it must be this way if the Lord were to pour out a Great Awakening upon our present religous landscape.

Currently our churches are holding both sincere believers and the self-deceived...and the proud scoffers. I think historically this has always been the case before revivals. (Consider the history of prayer and revival series from the Heartcry 2006 conference.)

Today churches are experimenting with everything but simply waiting upon the Holy Spirit. Business strategies, professional music, liberal social policies, bizzarre demonstrative sensationalism...each one is striving to make God relevant to modern man...when many churches themselves are hardly depending on God, in truth, for their own operations! Here is how Tozer described us fifty years ago...

Unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental...

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill-seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

Now if we can agree that this is the general condition of our churches, (dear saints even many of our own churches are idling away the precious hours of daylight left)...then consider what must happen if at once the Holy Spirit moved upon those few men, women, and children of prayer within our churches.

Why there would be a rupture! When revival comes to America, it will not be scheduled and supervised by most of the existing hiearchical leadership...in fact I believe many revival fires will actually begin outside of churches...beyond the Church Growth concerns with social normalcy, and out of reach from spirit-quenching fire-suppression routines.

How can revival and status quo mix?

...having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; turn away from these.

We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

Is this being quarrelsome or divisive? If so, not by men but by the Lord. The Holy Spirit is not a doctrine that He can be discussed about and compromised with for the sake of peace. Both churched and unchurched people, educated and uneducated people who have encountered the truthful sight of God upon their hearts and deeds, will endure doctrinal and social skepticism from wiser saints, and humble themselves to recieve the gravepassing power of the Holy Spirit.

And fear came upon every soul... And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The churches... were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

Today we maintain civilized doctrinal discourse, practicing respect for each other's opinions, which is a fine thing...but in historical revivals it seemed that the fear of God became the greater concern. This is one reason why revival can hardly exist within the social enterprise that is today's characteristic church...

I believe that we could very well see revival come to America across different and various sized cities, towns, communities, and households...spontaneously and without human coordination...much like it did in the late 1850's. This is not a manmade movement under the title of a bestselling book. It is God...and this is what will terrify most churches. Men when shaken and moved by the utter finality of God's judgement upon their lives, will recieve the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit, and plunge themselves into the waters of prayer when He stirrs. They will have no time for technocratic religous enterprises that are conformed to the pattern of this world...they would rather sit in an open field and devote themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

To quote A.W. Tozer again: "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference."

Well, those who would know the difference might no longer sit idle with those who do not. If the Holy Spirit should leave many churches, then many Holy Spirit filled Christians will give chase out into the streets, schools, businesses, homes, prisons, and hospitials...anywhere Jesus sees fit to move.

This exodous, this seperation of a Spirit-filled Ecclesia from status quo churchdom is why a great revival will be signified by a great apostasy.

Let's look to His coming dear saints!

MC

To quote A.W. Tozer again: "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference."

This exodous, this seperation of a Spirit-filled Ecclesia from status quo churchdom is why a great revival will be signified by a great apostasy.

The Word of God speaks much of the condition of man---in the world and in the "church", in the last days. Paul taught that in the last days there would be a GREAT defection from Truth(apostasy). He also said that men would be covenant breakers, lovers of themselves, disobedient, having of form of godliness---yet denying the power thereof(II Tim 3-4). In these days we are also told that most will want to hear what they want to hear and will surround themselves with such teachers.

We also know that Jesus asked this most important and telling question: "when I come, will I find faith on the earth?"........

He further clued us in on what He meant by saying, "in that day MANY shall come and say, "Lord, Lord", professing themselves to be followers of Him. Yet, what does He say to them? "Depart from me you workers of Lawlessness. I never knew you." MANY are they who say "Lord, Lord", yet do not belong to Jesus. They "appear" to be following Him, yet to Him they are workers of lawlessness(iniquity). They are those who do not do the will of the Father in heaven (thy will be done on earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN). Is what we do, think, feel, say in accordance with what is being done in heaven.......or is it in accordance with what is being done on earth----that is the test/measure.

The Angel also speaks of these days when speaking with Daniel, saying, "Many shall be purified, make white and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:10). Paul also reaffirms this when he says, "they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned wh did not believe the truth but has pleasure in unrighteousness."

Brother Compton, the last thing you said above that I quoted is significant---very much so.

To quote A.W. Tozer again: "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference."

That pricks my heart. Oh, Father, don't let what we do continue without You. Oh, Father.