A Time for Shaking
By Nathan Obstarczyk
There is great upheaval and disturbance in nearly every facet of our world. Societal, economic, and political changes continue to reshape our world. Concerning scripture, many of the changes leave the hearts of the holy grieved and may tempt their minds toward despair. Thankfully, the hope of the righteous extends beyond the confines of this world that Peter tells us will one day dissolve with fervent heat. As the world continues to descend into greater wickedness, may our hearts say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
While changes in the world are disheartening, there is a shaking that is desperately needed to yield positive results. There is a shaking that must occur in the religious sector. The church's birth on the Day of Pentecost propelled the gospel throughout the world. Countless souls shed their devotion to pagan gods and placed their faith in the Messiah - Jesus Christ. The gospel of the kingdom shook the world and forever changed the religious sector.
As time progressed, men and women began to forsake the gospel of the kingdom and traded the rule of God’s Word and Spirit for the rule of men. Another religious system rose, and a great change occurred. The night of Roman Catholicism eventually became the pervading spiritual condition across Christendom. The Word of God was out of the hands of the common man and clergy ruled by their own means - through fear, lies, and violence. For hundreds of years, this condition persisted, and men and women groped in spiritual darkness.
Despite this prevailing condition, men were willing to challenge the established religious authority of the day. As Jesus challenged the established religious order of his day, Wycliffe, Huss, and Luther challenged the Roman Catholic beast. The light of God’s word was closed during the reign of Catholicism, but gradually God began to restore the truths of holiness through the ministries of many brethren in the era of Protestantism. As men increasingly studied and obeyed the light of the gospel, the more they would challenge the prevailing religious conditions. Although the restoration of light brought many positive changes, the spirit of the beast continued to operate.
During the Protestant Era, many of God’s children stood firm against the Catholic church, but the emergence of creeds founded on human reasoning and not on God’s Word scattered the sheep into different denominations. The various denominations caused the people of God to not experience sweet fellowship with one another. Allegiance to denominations forbade God’s people from worshipping together and enjoying the fellowship that naturally belongs to them. Thankfully, God began to shake.
Around 1880, some faithful brethren decried the divisive conditions plaguing God’s people. They began to boldly declare that each denomination was a sect founded on human reasoning and was not the true Church of God. Naturally, such preaching offended the defenders of sectism - especially the leaders. However, for thousands, the message resonated, and many began to take their stand out of that religious confusion - Babylon. Consequently, as these sectarian churches began to lose their members, the opposition grew increasingly fierce. God was shaking the church with a vial-ministry with a message relevant to the hour. What was that message? “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4).
As we come down to our time, the places that once called people out must have a “come out” message preached there. The Word of God and Spirit of God have long departed. What is known as the Church of God is simply a divided mess that is no different from the Protestant groups of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. There is division over doctrine, standards, and personalities. Essentially, the times demand another message - another “come-out” message. Many are trying to avoid this conclusion. Many will defend their sect while seeing the evils of it with their eyes wide open. Many will not stand. However, that does not change the fact that shaking is occurring and will continue to occur. Defend your Babel wreck if you choose, but the time has come for shaking. There is one remaining question - where will you stand after the shaking?
