Reformations, Great Awakenings, and New Tidal Waves of Glory on the Horizon

by Jennifer A. Miskov, PhD[1]

AWAKENING EUROPE: Nuremberg, Germany July 9-12, 2015

Something is about to be unleashed in Germany this summer.                                                      

Over 20,000 people from 25 nations are going to gather together in Nuremberg, Germany July 9-12, 2015 to invite God’s Kingdom to come. In a stadium where Hitler once raised up and trained his army, Ben Fitzgerald, Todd White and others are going to gather an army of Jesus lovers to send throughout the world carrying the fire of the Holy Spirit and the love of God. Heidi Baker, Jesus Culture band, an many others have rearranged their plans to be a part of what God wants to do. Awakening Europe is just the beginning of the turning of the tide for Germany, Europe, and the world.

When I asked Ben Fitzgerald, Australian born evangelist who is also a pastor at Bethel Church Redding, why he chose Germany for this first event, he said, “God chose Germany and I said ‘yes’ to His choosing.” It was the Lord who put it his and Todd’s heart. Rather than having the people there just repent all of the time for things in the past, Ben believes “God also wants people to get to the place where they are actually walking into the fullness of what God has for them and for Europe’s future.” He sees that Germany is ripe for what God is about to do in all the earth and he believes “a great catalytic fire is going to leave Germany and go across Europe and that millions of people are going to come back to God in the next few years.”

It is in Germany’s destiny to release an army of Jesus lovers who will infiltrate the world with the Father’s love. The rest of the world will see ripple effects for eternity in what God will release at Awakening Europe; for the wells being tapped into are deep. Awakening Europe is beginning in a land steeped with rich spiritual momentum and inheritance. The Protestant Reformation, The Moravians, The Great Awakening, the Bible translated into vernacular language and printed around the world, and more has been released from this place. Germany is a land filled with momentum, reformation, and awakening to impact generations and nations.

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther (1483-1546) lit a flame that reformed the Christianity of his day, breaking people out of religious cycles that had entrapped them for hundreds of years. It was that day when Luther posted his 95 Theses on a church door in Wittenberg. These were translated from Latin into German, printed on the newly invented Gutenberg printing press, and then quickly spread throughout Europe.

Luther’s 95 Theses were not initially intended to be a refined amendment to the pope. Originally, this was an act of inviting people to debate over these issues within the Catholic Church. However, God breathed on his declaration for justice and it served to be the catalyst to set things in motion for the Protestant Reformation which in turn transformed a religious system.

This reformation brought religious freedom and freedom from the religious spirit. It was a revolution to release the Kingdom of God to the common people. It was in Germany where old wine skins were challenged and abolished and where new wine skins were filled to overflowing with the wine from heaven. A new paradigm for the church was released where the common person could now connect with God without having to go through a priest. The world is continuing to experience the ripple effects of one sold out Jesus lover named Martin Luther.[2]

THE GREAT AWAKENING

Over 200 years later, Martin Luther’s work on the book of Romans was catalytic for another soon to be reformer named John Wesley (1703-1791). Before this happened, German Moravian missionaries already began to have a great impact on the young Englishman. While Wesley was traveling by boat to America in 1735-1736, he encountered a community of Moravians. Recalling that dangerous Sunday on February 25, 1736, Wesley wrote in his journal:

At noon our third storm began. At four it was more violent than before. At seven I went to the Germans. I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behaviour. Of their humility they had given a continual proof… In the midst of the psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards, "Was you not afraid?" He answered, "I thank God, no." I asked, "But were not your women and children afraid?" He replied, mildly, "No; our women and children are not afraid to die."[3]

Wesley was deeply impacted by the Moravian’s trust in God in the midst of the storms. While he feared for his life, they rested secure in the Father’s love. He arrived safely to America and then upon his return to England a year later, he met another German Moravian missionary named Peter Böhler, who had just been ordained by Nicolaus von Zinzendorf. They immediately struck up a friendship and regularly spoke about theological matters.[4]

Wesley’s interactions with the Germans caused him to rethink his theology. After struggling with his own faith and being challenged by the peace and assurance found in his new friends, on May 24, 1738 in London, he “went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans.”[5] While there, he encountered God like never before. He wrote,

About a quarter before nine, while he [the minister] was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.[6]

Wesley was marked by the love of God like never before. Not long after this encounter, he went to Herrnhut, Germany for three months so he could receive even more impartation from the Moravians. He returned back home to England just in time for New Year’s Eve where he got together with his community to pray and worship into the New Year. He recalled this time together:

About three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his Majesty, we broke out with one voice, "We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.”[7]

God crashed in on this community of saints in the early hours of New Year’s Day. This gathering of hearts became the catalytic flame to ignite the Great Awakening.

Following this outpouring, Wesley and some of his friends began open air preaching and releasing the Kingdom of God wherever they went. He and his brother Charles, later founded the Methodist Movement where they raised up, trained, and launched many lay people into the ministry. Another new paradigm for church was born. The Methodist movement later gave birth to the Holiness movement, which greatly contributed to the Pentecostal movement. Today there are over 80 million members in 133 countries under the World Methodist Council, not including other churches that have been influenced by Wesley’s legacy.[8]

Wesley opened his heart and was able to receive an impartation of God’s great inheritance from the Germans who trusted God deeply and loved to live in community together. Part of the reason Methodism has lasted so long is because it was housed in relationships and discipleship. Everywhere that Methodism has influenced can trace its roots back to the Germans.

THE COMING TSUNAMI WAVE & BILLIONS' SOUL HARVEST

German soil is embedded with Reformation and Awakening. Courage and Community marked these movements that are still impacting the world today. The things that come from Germany are not just for one generation; they impact generations. I did not even have time to mention Johannes Gutenberg, Johann Christoph Blumhardt, George Müller, Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Reinhard Bonnke, and the many other legends that also arose from German soil who all made an impact far beyond their own nation and generation.[9]

This is part of the legacy of Germany; this is part of the inheritance we can tap into. Awakening Europe is about raising up an army of Jesus lovers who will bring billions of souls into the new harvest. God wants to raise up people who will live such sold out lives that their offering to God will be felt generations from now. Great great great grandchildren will be impacted by how God is going to shake Germany this summer.

In line with the legacy and momentum already built in Germany, Ben’s dream for Germany and Europe is that Jesus will become a household name. His prayer is that “religious denominational barriers would be broken down, and that there would be a hunger in people to see others come back to God.” He is believing for a “majority, not a minority, of European people” who will be talking about Jesus and be born again. His dream is that millions of people over the next 5 years will be saved.

In preparation for Awakening Europe, Ben encourages us to “open wide the gates of our hearts for the King of glory to come in and to take over.” He wants each one to capture God’s heart for the nations and personally know the manifest love of Christ. His desire is that we “receive a vision of God’s love individually ” so we can “supernaturally be full of Jesus and be free.” When this happens, it’s going to affect everyone around us.

What if the presence and glory of God is so powerful and becomes so prevalent in our daily lives that people encounter His transformative love when they encounter us?

It’s coming. Prepare your hearts. God is gathering an army of Reformed and Awakened hearts.

It’s time to arise. It’s time to find those other burning ones who will say “yes” to wherever God leads. Find your people, and run. Run with everything inside of you into His loving arms and bring as many people as you can into that space of His glory love. Prepare your hearts for what is coming. Prepare your spirits for the biggest outpouring and Tsunami wave of revival ever to hit the earth.

The momentum has already begun. Martin Luther, the Moravians, and many others have been preparing the way. The wave has been building from generation to generation. It’s not a new wave; it’s a wave of synergy and momentum that has been forming for centuries. Layer upon layer. It’s a wave of Reformation, Great Awakening, Revival and more; and it’s rapidly on its way. Position yourselves exactly where He wants you to be in this season. Total consecration, total surrender, and total possession of the Holy Spirit are a must for this coming wave of glory not to crush us. Walk in purity, passion, and total obedience so that when the swell comes you are positioned to ride the wildest wave of your life. Ben says, “Maybe the great move of God we are waiting for will simply come when we make a move.” I agree. Grab your board and jump in. Its time to paddle out towards the horizon and position yourself to surf the biggest wave history has ever seen!

[1] Jennifer A. Miskov, PhD, is the Founding Director of Destiny House Redding, revival historian, ordained Iris Minister, and author who is excited to partner with what God is doing in Germany this summer. You can learn more about her and her ministry at www.silvertogold.com.

[2] The section on Martin Luther comes from an article by Jennifer A. Miskov entitled, “How Halloween is a Catalytic Day for Reformation, Revival, and Destiny” on http://silvertogold.com/blog/2013/10/29/how-halloween-october-31st-is-a-catalytic-day-of-reformation-revival-and-destiny

[3]John Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley, inThe Heart of John Wesley’s Journal, ed. Percy Livingstone Parker (London: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1903), 6-8. See Bill Johnson with Jennifer A. Miskov, Defining Moments (Whitaker House 2016) to learn more about Wesley’s defining moment.

[4]Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley, 33. Further, Böhler was 25. See John Telford, The Life of John Wesley (New York: Hunt and Eaton, originally 1924 but copyrighted 1998 through Wesleyan Heritage Publications), 96.

[5] Martin Luther, “Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans,” can be accessed here: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/prefacetoromans.pdf

[6] Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley, 42-45.

[7]“Mon. Jan. 1, 1739. Mr. Hall, Kinchin, Ingham, Whitefield, Hutchins, and my brother Charles, were present at our love-feast in Fetter-lane, with about sixty of our brethren…” John Wesley, The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley in Everyman’s Library vol.1, ed. Ernest Rhys (London: J.M. Dent & Sons Limited, London, 1906), 169. Accessed on http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015041157986;view=1up;seq=10

[8] http://worldmethodistcouncil.org/about/member-churches/ accessed June 18, 2015.

[9] See Jennifer A. Miskov, “Coloring Outside the Lines: Pentecostal Parallels with Expressionism. The Work of the Spirit in Place, Time, and Secular Society?” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 19 (2010) 94–117 to learn how German Expressionism ties into the mix and Jennifer A. Miskov, Life on Wings: The Forgotten Life and Theology of Carrie Judd Montgomery (Cleveland, TN: CPT Press, 2012) to learn more about the development of faith and healing homes in which Johann Cristoph Blumhardt played a part.