Restoration and Revival

By Peter Tsukahira

As we survey the landscape of end-time events, it is clear that there will be a spiritual restoration of biblical truth that will precede the return of the Lord. Jesus said that the spirit and power of Elijah was part of this restoration. He identified Elijah’s ministry with the work and person of John the Baptist.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:11-13)

Malachi’s prophecy, however, speaks of Elijah’s restoration coming before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” This means that just as John the Baptist ministered in Elijah’s spirit and power to prepare the way for Jesus’ first coming, there is to be another release of this ministry before Jesus returns to judge the earth.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5-6)

Turning the hearts of fathers to the children and children to their fathers means restoring the Lord’s altar of prayer in the family and in the heart of each nation. God’s rulership demands a prophetic stand against immorality, spiritual deception, and modern-day child sacrifice which is the practice of abortion. Elijah’s ministry today is a voice crying out, calling God’s people together to rebuild the Lord’s altar of sacrificial worship and to turn the heart of their nations back to God.

Europe and the Future of the Church

Has the great tsunami of Christian growth come to Europe and gone never to return? May it never be! God has a plan for yet another age of growth for the church in Europe. Yes, Europe has some of the oldest Christian history in the world but being older simply means you are getting closer to the end. All Christians know that the end of history is the return of the Lord. This means that Europe is historically and culturally closer to His return!

The Evangelical church in Europe is in fact becoming the church of the future. The church in Europe is already facing an antichrist spirit that the rest of the world has yet to experience. A generation ago who would have thought that once proud nations like France and Germany would lay down important aspects of their national identities and even their currencies to unify under a single secular banner? This is a shadow of the one world antichrist system that is one day to come upon all the world. The church in Europe is struggling against the spiritual oppression of this Goliath today.

Revival in Europe is destined to come from an unexpected yet prophetic source. The verses in Malachi say, “Elijah the prophet…will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:5-6). There was a time in history when European nations seemed to rule the world. Their Christian culture based on the truths of God’s word gave them such an advantage they were able to exercise dominion over many other nations. They used and abused their power during the colonial age. Much has been written and said about the bad that came from that era, but good also came as a result of colonisation.

Among the good results was that the gospel was preached around the world. William Carey, an eighteenth century Baptist minister from England is recognised as the “father of modern missions.”

Today, the spiritual children of the European colonies are coming back to bless their fathers. By this I mean Evangelical Christians from Africa, Latin America and Asia are returning to Europe in great numbers. They are coming as guest workers and immigrants, and they are coming with a younger, more vibrant and fresh Christian faith than is native to Europe currently. The prophetic challenge for the church in Europe today is this: Will the European “fathers” recognise, accept and embrace their spiritual “children”? Will the returning children of the colonies honour their fathers and bring them the gift of Christ’s love and new life?

The opportunity God is offering to the new church in Europe is to be a truly multinational, multi-ethnic body and an example to Christians around the world. The great revivals that are taking place in various parts of the world today where multiplied millions of first generation Christians are pouring into the kingdom of God in places like Korea, China, Brazil and Nigeria are primarily national movements. While the numbers are impressive and the excitement of new faith is genuine, these movements have less impact on the rest of the world than inside their own country or region. The new Evangelical/Pentecostal church in Europe must be genuinely borderless, multinational and multi-ethnic, a picture of the diversity and unity in heaven. This new church movement will reach out to the poor and to immigrants and refugees. It will speak with apostolic authority.

Integral to this vision of a new European church is an understanding of Israel’s place in God’s end-time plan. How can there be a truly multi-ethnic, end-time church without the Jewish people? The Jews were originally chosen by God to stand with Him in covenant relationship. The Gospel itself is “to the Jew first.” After nearly 2000 years, Israel is now a nation in the world again. The number of Messianic Jews, that is, Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah is increasing and their presence is visible in the church today. The modern appearance of Messianic Jews in the church restores a biblical paradigm which is the ground and grammar of multi-ethnicity in the Lord’s body. According to the Bible, Jews and Gentiles in the church must be in unity for the Lord’s bride to be complete.

Specifically, European Christians should turn from all forms of Replacement Theology and renounce the legacy of Christian antisemitism in Europe. Repentance and reconciliation will prepare the way for revival. In today’s Europe, it is both possible and vitally important to demonstrate that Messianic Jews and Christian Arabs can be one in the kingdom of Jesus. The enmity between the families of Isaac and Ishmael has roots that go back to the book of Genesis. The “one new man” of Ephesians chapter 2 is the cornerstone of the multiethnic, multinational new church in Europe. This is what the Apostle Paul meant in Romans chapter 11 when he wrote that the “fullness” of the Gentiles must come before we will see national revival in Israel. The fullness of the Gentiles means more than just the full number. It also means the fullness of maturity – wholeness that can only come when the church is truly “one new man” of Jews and all manner of Gentiles together in one body under one King. This is an essential distinguishing mark of the end-time church. May the new church in Europe, the church of the future, rise up to this great challenge and in humility take its place of servant leadership, as God’s prophetic example to the nations once again!

This article is an excerpt from the book, God’s Tsunami by Peter Tsukahira. It has been reprinted with permission from the author. To continue reading part 2 of this article click here.