American Revival? No! No! No!

Posted on December 30, 2020

20


By David Ettinger

No Real Revival
I appreciate Christians who pine for revival here in America, but I don’t think you’re being realistic.

The very word “revival” indicates resuscitating something that once existed. Though the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, we were never a “Christian nation.” This includes the Deists among the founding fathers with their immoralities and shoddy theology.

Throughout America’s history, there have been several “revivals,” but what, in reality, were they? They consisted of limited waves of religious furor that swept over pockets of the land, stayed for a while, and then died. Those who did not actually come to faith in Christ retreated to the mud they previously wallowed in once the fervor subsided, as did the nation.

True salvation is an individual affair accomplished one person at a time, and that individual perseveres for a lifetime in the best and worst of times. When has America as a whole ever been characterized by citizens who fit this description?

Those seeking national revival, I ask you: What norm are the “revived” supposed to return to? America’s norm has never been “Christian,” but one where people live as they please.

Who Will Be Revived?
Here’s another question: Who exactly will be “revived,” especially since they’ve never trusted in Christ in the first place?

  • Let’s start with President Trump, who I support, pray for, and believe has been an excellent leader. Sadly, however, I don’t believe he’s saved. In the coveted Great American Revival, will he and his wife Melania come to faith in Christ? Will his daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism, be saved? Will all of President Trump’s children and grandchildren be saved?
  • What about President-Elect Biden? Will he be swept up in the Great American Revival and give his life to Christ? Will his wife Jill and son Hunter do the same? And what about the Biden grandchildren? Will they all come to faith in Christ?
  • What about the “Squad”? Will Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaid, Ayana Pressley – and other “Squadders” – suddenly see the error of their ways and fall on their knees before our Savior?
  • What about all the other unscrupulous and self-serving politicians on both sides of the aisle? Will they be overcome by the tidal wave of the Great American Revival and embrace Christ?
  • What about the angry adherents of Antifa and Black Lives Matter? Are they going to lay down their arms and seek peace with all people once they get “revived”?
  • What about the media? Are the staffers of The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and all other unbelieving journalists going to instantly become Christ-followers and use their talents to disseminate the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ?
  • What about Hollywood? Once the Great American Revival captures them, surely they will begin producing TV shows and movies which focus on hope and the goodness of our God. Surely in their board meetings the first question they ask will be: “How can we best glorify God in our upcoming project?”
  • And then there’s the education system – from preschool all the way up through PHD-candidates. Once revival washes over them, will they make the Bible their standard of study and the foundation upon which all of their teachings are based?
  • Then there are our heretical churches that reject the deity of Christ. Surely they will put an immediate end to their heresies, embrace the Word of God, and teach it, and it alone.
  • And this not to mention how the Great American Revival will dramatically change the face of businesses, financial institutions, law-enforcement agencies, and all other aspects of society.

Really?
Do you really see this happening? Don’t tell me that God can bring this about. Of course He can. He can also prevent the most precious of His children from dying terrible deaths, but doesn’t (for His glory’s sake).

No, far from national revival, America is moving more and more toward national apostasy, and this is the reality Christians must embrace as we race toward the end of this age of human history and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, keep praying for your loved ones, friends, work associates, and our leaders, but remember that salvation is on an individual basis; it doesn’t come in waves over the masses. Just as the Babylonian-exiled ancient Israelites were to “seek the prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord in its behalf” (Jeremiah 29:7), believers should pray for the U.S.

However, don’t affix your aspirations to a hope which will never become a reality. America is drifting further and further from God and will not turn back.

And Yet!
And yet, there is a coming Kingdom God Himself will establish! It will endure for 1,000 years (Revelation 20-1-6; Isaiah Chapter 11, among others), and will be marvelous!

This Millennial Kingdom will be a reality, and we must pray for as many individuals as possible to enter it. Citizenship is attained by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9). And in that Kingdom there will be no need of revival, because:

“They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ “for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.”

And that, Christian, is a reality to stake your hopes upon!

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Posted in: Ancient Israel, Application, Bible teaching, Christ's Deity, Christianity, Commentary, Culture, Current Events, Dedication to Christ, Deterioration of the U.S., Editorial/Blog, End Times, God's Divine Plans, God's Judgment, Jesus the Judge, Loving God, Making a Point, Moral Corruption, Moral Fall of the West, New Testament, Obeying God, Old Testament, Practical, Praying, Rejecting God, Repentance, Salvation in Christ, Society, The End of the Age, The Millennial Kingdom, The Return of Christ