This generation thought rapture was going to take place at the end of the last millennium/beginning of this.
In the 70s, 80s and 90s as the millennium was fast coming to an end, there was a “church boom”. Many rushed to Church not because they understood Christ neither His Love, but the “fear of going to hellfire” did… it was a revival built on fear more than love.
The fear foundation continues into the millennium even till date. This fear factor has given rise to many fear-related doctrines and beliefs that hunted the wheel of progress of the Gospel of Christ.
Some of these fear related beliefs or doctrines are:
I. Extremism of the doctrine of tithe. “If you don’t pay devourer would come from heaven”. I believe in tithing and sowing as a sign of honour to God. I do it as led and not as threatened. If you love Christ, giving to His works happens effortlessly. You can’t use Malachi to intimidate me when Ephesians tells me that “Christ Has redeemed me from the curse of the law”. And you are bringing Malachi to put me in bondage. If you must live by Malachi, let’s go to the Old Testament and live by all the laws there, don’t select the ones to obey.
II. Extremism of doctrine of “father in lord”, A fellow sent to me today’s morning devotional of one of the leading Pentecostal churches today. I wept when I saw the passion in which the writer was talking about “submission” and “father in lord”. He never mentioned biological parents in any way. When they want to cage men, they go to Old Testament to import things to fit into their control system.
Extremism of this doctrine is silent on the leading of the Holy Spirit. It has caged many to the point that God Himself cannot reach His people because they need to access God through “father in the
lord”.
III. They tend to lose their focus and apparently don’t know their place. Nigeria was amalgamated in 1914. There was a revival called Azusa street in 1906 -1915.
You see that the amalgamation happened at the peak and ending days of the revival.
The plan of God is for the south to evangelise the north. The Igbos were to lead that assignment. In Nigeria, they have the highest proportions of Christians and well established in northern parts of Nigeria than any ethnic group. The likes of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Odimegwu Ochukwu were born in the north. This is to tell you how established they were in north in pre-independence Nigeria.
Assemblies of God Church which is an offshoot of Asuza street revival had her Headquarters in Enugu, she arrived Nigeria in 1934, her council was inaugurated in 1964. That was 20 and 50 years respectively after amalgamation.
