Completing the Reformation

Why were the Dark Ages so dark? Everyone knows the answer to that one. It was because the church fell away from the simple truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and tried to control the world through the fear of eternal damnation and the promise of eternal bliss depending on whether or not you agreed with the current dogma of the Pope. In the process, the Scriptures were banned from the common people, selling licenses to sin became a primary source of revenue for the church, and millions of true believers were tortured and slain in the Inquisition.

But then along came the Reformation. It was actually begun in the late 1300’s by reformers such as John Wycliffe and John Huss, who insisted that the church get back to the simple truth and authority of the Holy Scriptures. It climaxed in 1517 with Martin Luther’s famous “95 Theses,” and then was aided by Philipp Melanchthon, Ulric Zwingli, John Calvin, and many others. This major work of God resulted not only in the beginning of all the Protestant churches, but also brought many much-needed reforms to the Catholic church as well.

Most Christians will agree with me that this was the most important move of God since the first century Church. It re-established the most essential, central doctrine of Christianity, that our salvation is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of His shed blood, and not of any good works we can do. Now rather than church tradition or papal edict, the authority of the Holy Scriptures was the foundation for true faith. “The just shall live by faith!” (Rom 1:17 KJV) was the rallying cry of the Reformation. Christianity was no longer, “pay your tithes, attend mass on Sunday, confess your sins to the priest, and buy an indulgence when you commit adultery or some other delightful wickedness.” In short, the Reformation lifted the Church up from the realm of all the do’s and don’ts of the religious order of the day, into a new realm: the realm of faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ for our salvation.

So was that it? Was the Reformation complete? No. Again most Christians will agree with me that another great move of God awaited. It began in the early 1700’s with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. This “Great Awakening” came in waves over much of the civilized world, up through the mid 1800’s with D.L. Moody and others. Then in the early 1900’s it sprang into full-blown revivals in places like Wales (the Welsh Revival) and Los Angeles (the Azusa Street Revival). From there it spread to over fifty nations all over the world. It is ongoing today, as evidenced by the “Toronto Blessing” which began in 1994, inspired by great revivals in Argentina and South Africa. This was the birth of the Pentecostal movement. “Holiness” churches sprang up everywhere, and even those churches which rightly decried the excesses of the Pentecostals were still changed by this powerful move of God.

These Great Awakenings and revivals restored another essential element to the faith that had been lost in the Dark Ages: the work of the Holy Spirit. Now true Believers learned that they not only are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but also they are empowered to walk in holiness in the fear of God by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

So was that it? Was the Reformation finally complete? No. God is revealed in Scripture as trinity. Can we count up to three? My exhaustive calculations indicate that only two-thirds of the Reformation was complete, the restoration of God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There yet remains the restoration of God the Father.

That is what God is doing today, as I assert in my book. Indeed, that is the main reason I spent all these years writing it. And I am not alone - God is doing this all over, through many vessels. So, what form does this restoration take? How can you recognize it when you see it? Exactly what is it that is being restored?

Sadly, most Christians will not agree with me on this one, as it involves both an appreciation for the Old Testament “Feasts of Israel” and an understanding of the Biblical nature of a father. In America, the Dad is often just the breadwinner, while the Mom takes charge of raising, educating, and discipline of the kids. But the Biblical standard is that the father is in charge of the whole ball of wax, the head of the family, responsible for the integrity of the family name. So here is how you recognize the next great move of God: He is restoring the honor of His family name – His chosen family, Israel. He is educating His family to learn of their Israeli roots, including the Old Testament and the Feasts of Israel. He is maturing His family through discipline to become like Himself, true sons of the heavenly Father, including those of us He adopted from among the Gentiles.

Oh, and one last thing you need to know about the nature of a Biblical father: He is in charge of finding a worthy bride for his son. Yoiks! Doesn’t that rub us independent, freedom loving Americans the wrong way! But that is indeed what our heavenly Father is doing right now, like it or not. He will have a perfectly pure, worthy Bride for His Son Jesus when He returns, a Bride made of many members, from every denomination, every tongue, every nation, every people. And not one member of this glorious Bride will be missing, for the Father will see to it.

I believe that will happen very soon. I believe He will use my book (and others) to aid Him in this quest. I believe the restoration of the Father to the church will result in her having great power and glory – it will involve an abundance of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-26), it will multiply all the gifts of the Spirit, especially the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 12 & 14; also Joel 2:28-29), it will restore the authority of spiritual ministers (Eph 4:11-13), and it will bring an explosion of love, restoring families and relationships, especially between fathers and their children. (Mal 4:6)

This will result in a widespread “reaping” of the vast end-time harvest for God’s kingdom. (Matt 9:37-38) In short, this is by far the biggest thing God has done since the first century church was born. This is the completion of the Reformation.

The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine is heresy. Jesus cannot return “at any moment.” He will not return for His Bride until she has “made herself ready.” Her “…fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Rev 19:7-8) So we should not be sitting around waiting for Jesus to return - He is waiting for us!

Instead, we should be purifying ourselves. “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 Jn 3:3) Yes, our heavenly Father is doing the work in us, but still, “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12b-13)

And what is the ultimate result of all that the Father is doing in these end times? Let Him tell you Himself, from His own Holy Word.

I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the high calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But to each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, “When He ascended on high He made captivity itself a captive. [ie, He conquered death, which had held all of us captive because of our sins.] He gave gifts to His people.”

When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? [ie. hell, to pay the penalty for our sins] He who descended is the same One who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. [Not just a few, or most, but all things. There is no qualifier here. This is one of many verses declaring the Ultimate Reconciliation of all things.]

The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Eph 4:1-13, NRSV)

That is what the Father is doing right now. And that is what will complete the Reformation. When we walk in a manner worthy of our high calling, bear with each other in love, and make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit – when we minister to one another according to the gifts He gives for the building up of the body of Christ – our Father will bring us to the unity of the faith, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ, and thus to become the Bride worthy of His holy name. Then He will return for His own, and not one moment before.