Is It Too Early to Pray for Worldwide Revival? | Jonathan Edwards

Deep Dive into Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth by Jonathan Edwards - That Such Agreement is Premature, AnsweredIn his writing on extraordinary prayer, Jonathan Edwards addresses a significant objection: many believers feel that earnest prayer for the rapid advancement of Christ's kingdom is premature. They believe that before the church experiences its prophesied glory, there must be a horrific period of persecution where the Antichrist and Satan achieve total victory, an event often interpreted as the slaying of the witnesses in Revelation 11. Edwards argues that holding onto this belief severely dampens the hope, courage, and zeal needed for persistent prayer, as believers would naturally expect to suffer and die rather than see the dawn of glorious times.To counter this discouragement, Edwards provides several reasons why the slaying of the witnesses is not a future event. First, he notes that this prophetic death represents the absolute lowest point of true religion, a state of profound darkness that already occurred during the pre-Reformation era. It would require an impossible global catastrophe to plunge the currently vast Protestant world back into such total ignorance. Second, Edwards points out that God's work of salvation is perfect; having already struck a massive blow to the Antichrist's power during the Reformation, God will not reverse course and allow His church to be entirely subdued again. He draws parallels to the gradual but permanent destruction of ancient Babylon to show that God always finishes the deliverances He begins.Furthermore, placing the slaying of the witnesses in the future makes the prophecies of Revelation contradict one another. The battle in Revelation 11 ends with the church defeated in sackcloth, while the final battles in chapters 16 and 19 feature the church triumphantly following Christ in white raiment to completely destroy their enemies. Therefore, Edwards concludes that while a major final struggle against Satan remains, the church will not be vanquished, and believers should pray earnestly without discouragement.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerWorship Music: https://suno.com/playlist/3a498d0f-c90e-4981-8aa7-59834e7239f7https://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730