Forfeited Honor

June 26, 2012

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Lk 16:2, “Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest no longer be steward.”

That group of Christians which was at one time given the great honor of being God’s messengers for the last days has forfeited their position, and this privilege has been removed. Their ancestors were at one time sincerely devoted to God, and followed His every instruction. But the descendants of that original group no longer have this same loyalty, and instead are stayed on maintaining their institution and its traditions. As a result of this change, the blessing which was given to their forebears, and which could have been theirs as well, has been withdrawn. What makes this even more sad is that they are completely unaware of their loss.

During the mid-1800s there was an event in America which came to be known as the Great Awakening, or the Great Revival. This period saw a remarkable increase in spirituality among the people in America, as well as in many other parts of the world. As this period of renewed spiritual interest began winding down, several new Christian denominations were formed; each with a commitment to continue studying, learning, and growing in their relationship with God. These groups felt the need to separate from their former denominational associations because they saw that their previous organizations had become close-minded about receiving new light from God. These new groups vowed to avoid the mistakes of the settled denominations, and thereby always (hopefully) remain open to new instructions from God. God honored their purposes and their sincerity by granting them the privilege of being the channels through which He would send increased understanding to the rest of Christianity and the world. In other words, they would become the bearers of the last-day messages. Their resolve to always be attentive and obedient was to be put to the test with the generation which came after.

As the founders of the new groups passed away and leadership of these organizations fell to their children, changes began occurring in their dedication, their focus, and their attitudes. These new denominations quickly lost sight of their spiritual purpose and began following the path of all other denominations. In other words, they became institutionalized.

Around the end of the nineteenth century these new churches, now mostly in their second generation of leadership, were called upon to receive new light from God. Each denomination’s new instructions focused on a different aspect of God’s truth; so there wasn’t the same message given to all of them. Each was called on to move forward in the area most challenging to them. For one this was “faith vs works”; for another it was “healing by faith”; for yet another it was understanding “spiritual gifts”; and so on. Had they all accepted and developed their given messages, there would have come a time when they found that as they continued moving closer to God, they would also be moving closer to each other. Until, at last, by sharing in each others’ light, they all would gain a more complete understanding of God. Unfortunately, this was not to be. One by one, each of these young denominations rejected the new light given to them; and so a curse fell on them all — a curse of “no new light” for a time.

Specifically, at the end of the 1800s (late 1880s thru 1890s), one of the Sabbatarian groups was given clarification of “righteousness by faith” and its importance in salvation. But rather than accept and spread this new perspective, the denominational leaders chose to reject it. Further, the ones who had been pushing to accept the new concepts were removed from their positions of influence. Some were put out of the church, while others were sent into exile by being assigned to the farthest corners of the world.

Similarly a decade later, at the beginning of the 1900s (1900 thru 1910), among a couple of the Pentecostal groups, a number of people were given increased proficiency in “healing by faith”. But as they tried to share their new insights and new abilities with others, their respective denominations refused these practices. Then all who had been promoting the new ideas were discredited, shunned, or put out altogether.

As each denomination was given something new which challenged them to continue growing and stretching their spiritual understanding, they each in turn opted to refuse it. One by one they all decided it was in their best interests to place administrative concerns above spiritual ones. That is, membership growth and financial increase was preferred over “controversial” and “non-traditional” doctrines “supposedly” from God. The end result of these decisions was that the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the world, in great measure; and God’s plan to bless the world with large amounts of new light was postponed.

A type of curse then fell on these faithless denominations — they would be out of God’s favor for three generations (approximately 120 years). This was in accordance with the principle found in Exodus 34:7 that if God’s people break the covenant they make with Him, He will “visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation”. For each of these groups they would be given no new light and no new blessings for the determined period. There wasn’t to be a total separation from God’s grace. He continued to provide additional illumination of the messages already given; so that if the people should reconsider their rejection, they might still come back into God’s favor.

But they failed to repent right away. It was nearly 100 years before the following generations began to examine what had happened earlier and why. In fact, throughout most of that intervening period the groups involved were so beclouded by darkness of understanding that they didn’t even realize they were out of God’s favor and were receiving nothing new. They just considered that the status-quo and their traditions were sufficient. What a pitiful situation — to be so blind that you don’t even recognize your blindness!

After the close of the twentieth century, the time appointed for spiritual reprimand reached a point where the curse could be lifted; if the people were ready. But for this to happen those who now claimed to be followers of God would have to be willing to hear and obey Him. They could not have the same narrow-mindedness of their grandparents; they instead would have to have the attitude of their great-grandparents — a sincere seeking after God which puts Him first, and a willingness to do all He requests, even if it means moving beyond old understandings. They must be willing to put God above all else; even long-standing practices. But this is a hard thing to ask of established denominations that have become settled in their traditions and organization.

Toward the end of the first decade of the 2000s, the Holy Spirit began moving in the world again, in a more pronounced manner. He began giving new understanding of spiritual matters, giving new gifts and power to those diligently seeking Him, and giving everyone a heightened sense of urgency that closing events are about to begin. Study groups began springing up in churches and individual homes across the country and around the world; all seeking to know more about the Holy Spirit and end-time events.

This new revival didn’t match the fervor or gain the publicity of the Great Revival from 160 years earlier; its appearance was much more subdued. Even so, it seemed a majority of people were quietly developing an interest in spiritual subjects and were seeking a new relationship with God. People who had never before been religious were now looking for answers about God. Many were seeking something; though they weren’t sure what.

As the leaders of the various Christian denominations became aware of this growing interest among their members, and also among the general public, they began considering what their reaction should be. They had been caught unaware; for this “silent revival” had not started among the clergy or as a planned campaign. Instead, it had begun as a grass roots movement among the laity and regular people; many of whom had no ties with the religious administrations. On the one hand, the denominations were glad to see renewed enthusiasm among their members and increasing visits from non-members. On the other hand, however, these study groups were developing ideas which challenged some of the official doctrines. Further, they were often led by people unwilling to submit to any directives of the church authorities.

It soon came about that many study group leaders took the position of wanting to give precedence to God’s directions over church commands, when there were points of disagreement. The churches found this attitude particularly rankling since they viewed themselves as chosen to speak for God. So they then had to carefully consider what response they would make.

In some denominations a hard-line stance was taken. The new teachings were declared to be heresy and those involved with teaching it were put out of the church. In other denominations it was decided to take charge of the subject and modify the new ideas about the Holy Spirit and coming events in such a way that these topics would no longer conflict with established practices. Still others decided to ignore it; gambling it would eventually die on its own. The rest continued on as usual; completely oblivious that there even was such a movement. Each denomination’s response then had a strong influence on the subsequent beliefs of their respective members.

Thus the young denominations, the ones which grew out of the Great Revival, now forfeited the position they had once been given. They made a commitment in the mid-1800s; they failed the testing of their pledge during the late-1800s and early-1900s and were rebuked for a period; they were then given another chance at the beginning of the 2000s but refused again to fulfil their promise. Therefore the privilege of being God’s messengers to the last days was taken away. They have been stripped of their honor. From this point on they have only the same standing as all other denominations and are no more than a part of the crowd. Their individual members still have the same chance of salvation as everyone else. But these denominations as entities are no longer recognized by God as blessed or special.

The Jews had at one time been chosen as the bearers of God’s message to the world. They were given a prophecy about the coming Messiah, and were responsible for spreading that message. But over time they turned their focus inward and cared more for themselves than for their duty to others; and they lost the power of the message they had been given. Thus once it was time for the Messiah to appear, they weren’t ready for Him and so didn’t recognize Him. Even so, because of their past position, the message of the Messiah was given first to the Jews. Then, after they rejected Him, the message went to the rest of the world. Likewise, a prophecy has been given about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the Latter Rain. At one time a group of sincere believers was chosen as bearers of God’s final message. But over time they lost the Holy Spirit and the power of the message they had been given. Thus now that the time has arrived for the Second Pentecost, this group is no more ready to receive it than any other Christian denomination. Even so, because of their past position as “last-day messengers”, the coming of the Holy Spirit was presented first to their descendants. Unfortunately, they have rejected Him; thus responsibility for the final message is taken away from them and given to others.

This brings us to today. Every individual and every organization which claims the name of Christ is being pushed to make a decision about the present message from the Holy Spirit. This question is not taking the form of a great, open, controversy with the contestants clearly identified and the issues publicly debated. Rather, it is taking the form of an internal decision. All are deciding: “I hear something calling itself the Holy Spirit challenging me to question my long held beliefs. But to do so moves me out of what’s comfortable. So will I obey? Or will I just say, ‘This isn’t really from God’?”

Again, every church, every group, and every person is being pressed to answer this question for themselves. Many already have. Many others are still in the process of deciding. Once everyone has made their choice, final events will begin to fall. Unfortunately, even though everyone is making their choice, very few recognize the significance of this question and the magnitude of its consequences. It is far more important than most can conceive. Make your own choice wisely!

Jn 14:17, “The Spirit of truth the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not neither knoweth Him.”

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