4. A Lesson from Church History
Church history appears to support the point about certain encounters being unique to certain eras. A survey of that general history shows significant highlights in each age. For example,
- the Holy Ghost and missionary prominence of the early 1st century, with Peter and Paul championing it;
- the Apostolic Age of the early 2nd century with emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s empowerment and apostolic authority;
- the Reformation Movement of the 16th and 17th centuries, emphasizing justification by faith – casting passages like Galatians 3:11 in such fresh light as never seen until then, with leading figures such as Martin Luther;
- the Evangelical Revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries, with such names as George Whitefield and John Wesley;
- the Missions Movement of the 19th and 20th centuries, with frontline characters like David Livingstone and Hudson Taylor;
- the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movements of the early 20th century, for example, the Azuza Street revival, with preachers like William Seymour;
- the contemporary Church with its faith and prosperity fad as never before, and all that cries for revival again.
To each age, a verse seemed to open up in a way that it never had, as if a first or second or third seal had been taken off of it. To each opening of such ‘seals,’ the Church and that age cried in wonderous amazement, “Come and see!” (Revelation 6:1-7): Pentecost, missions, justification by faith, baptism by immersion, New Pentecost, the faith movement, etc.
Every dispensation, its revelation. For instance, what did the fathers know (or thought that they knew) about Nebuchadnezzar/Daniel’s image, the antichrist, the mark of the beast, the false prophet, etc.?
