For 500 years the Church has walked in the heritage of this reformation. A movement that saw the written word of God revered as it should be. A movement that put the scriptures into the native tongues of the masses and enabled the common lay person to read the Bible. Unfortunately this reformation, while a major step towards the image of the end-time Church, did not go far enough. In other ways it went too far. Christ has never wanted a fragmented and divided Bride. We spend too much time fighting each other instead of fostering the bonds of brotherly love.
As we move towards the second coming of Christ we are going to see the true Church come together in unparalleled unity. We will see mergers of denominations and congregations. But most of all we will see acceptance and respect for one another. Instead of focusing on our differences we will celebrate the diversity within the Body of Christ.
There isn't room for division when the Church is under persecution. Minute doctrinal differences cease to be important. As we approach the end-times we will experience greater and greater persecution. The majority of mankind lives in nations where the Church is not free. As the end-time harvest occurs one of two things will happen. It will be persecuted by tyrannical governments or the Kingdom of God will transform the nation's government. I believe in many cases we will see heads of states touched by the gospel- but more often than not it will be the blood of martyrs that will advance the Gospel of Christ.
There are three key elements of the Body of Christ that must come together in order to facilitate this great move of God that is coming. When God reforms and restores His Church we will see these three streams mingle once again.
The first element is the Word of God. The reformed tradition has carried a reverence and dedication to the written word of God. The supremacy and inerrancy of Scripture will be recognized in the end-time Church. Too many Churches have placed opinion, tradition, preferences, political expediency, and cultural relevance above the Word of God.
The Church must also adopt a complete reliance on the Spirit of God as well as a hunger for His Presence. We have seen a new found discovery of the power of the Holy Spirit over the past 100 years. All flesh will speak in tongues- not just one segment of the Church. We will see a greater adoption of the spiritual gifts, particularly prophecy and healing. There is a very small segment of the Church that is truly walking in the power of the Spirit. This coming move of God will see a baptism of power and authority released upon the entire remnant of the body of Christ. Part of this will be seen in a breakdown of the barriers between clergy and laity. No longer will people go to Church to be idle spectators- they will go to Church in order to be active servants of one another.
The final element that needs to be restored to the Church is a reverence for communion. We are going to see Church services center around the Lord's Supper once again. We see this in the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox traditions to name a few. However, most of Protestantism has lost an understanding of the Lord's Supper. In many churches it is an empty ritual tacked onto the end of a service once a month. When properly celebrated it ushers in the Presence of God in a powerful way and releases freedom and breakthrough to the participant. I firmly believe that we need to return to a sacramental understanding of the Lord's Supper.
In many ways the first Reformation went too far- in other ways it didn't go far enough. These three elements mentioned rarely coexist in a congregation but are in fact three elements of the same river. God will bring together the streams of Reformed Biblical orthodoxy, Pentecostalism, and the traditional Eucharist to form a mighty end-time Church. The expressions of this river will differ depending on the congregation but we will see these three streams represented throughout the entire Body of Christ.
The final element that needs to be restored to the Church is a reverence for communion. We are going to see Church services center around the Lord's Supper once again. We see this in the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox traditions to name a few. However, most of Protestantism has lost an understanding of the Lord's Supper. In many churches it is an empty ritual tacked onto the end of a service once a month. When properly celebrated it ushers in the Presence of God in a powerful way and releases freedom and breakthrough to the participant. I firmly believe that we need to return to a sacramental understanding of the Lord's Supper.
In many ways the first Reformation went too far- in other ways it didn't go far enough. These three elements mentioned rarely coexist in a congregation but are in fact three elements of the same river. God will bring together the streams of Reformed Biblical orthodoxy, Pentecostalism, and the traditional Eucharist to form a mighty end-time Church. The expressions of this river will differ depending on the congregation but we will see these three streams represented throughout the entire Body of Christ.
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