John the Baptist was always clear that his role was to point to the one coming after him: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). He was also keenly aware that his ministry was a preparation for a movement that would follow. In the same way, Asbury kept Jesus at the forefront with a countercultural message of “no celebrity except Jesus.” Asbury leadership hopes that their experience will one day be part of a plethora of chapters about how many met God.

We often only realize that we are living through historic events by looking back on them.
Consider the Moravians. In 1727, this group of Christians fleeing persecution in the modern-day Czech Republic began a 24-7 prayer vigil. They couldn’t foresee that their non-stop prayer session would ultimately last for 100 years and launch a global missions movement.
Or take the example of John Wesley and George Whitefield. In 1738, in a New Year’s prayer meeting, where the men and others were gathered, at “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” later wrote Wesley in his diary.” The preachers likely had little idea that in the ensuing months, they would start traveling across the UK teaching the word of God, a campaign that would mark the beginning of the Wesleyan revival and the First Great Awakening in the US.
Church history has taught us to never underestimate the long-term impact when God’s tangible presence comes upon a group of people; this understanding has led me to closely track the aftermath of the 2023 outpouring at Asbury University.
For those who need a refresher: One year ago this week, as a seemingly ordinary Wednesday morning chapel ended, 18 or 19 students lingered to worship and pray. Though the school in rural Kentucky has a history of revivals, few likely believed that this meeting would continue for the following 16 days, drawing over 60,000 people, including students from 300 university campuses and Christians from almost every continent.
While we have yet to see a global revival since Asbury’s concluded, there is more going on than our eyes can see. I believe that we have entered a season of spiritual preparation. I’ve observed parallels between this event and a biblical preacher who also hailed from the countryside and who also drew a crowd: John the Baptist.
Prophesied by Isaiah as “the voice of one calling in the wilderness” (John 1:23; Is. 40:3), John called the people to repentance and consecration. He was the embodiment of answered prayer and devoted his ministry to proclaiming that something greater would soon be following him. Seeing evidence of these elements all around the world provokes me to wonder what next global move Asbury might have heralded.
A Call to Repentance and Consecration
From the wilderness, John the Baptist earned his nickname by “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). Crowds followed him into the desert to confess their sins, get baptized, and reconcile themselves to God.
In a similar way, crowds entering Hughes Auditorium were confronted with the state of their own hearts. Here is how David Thomas, who was in the core leadership team stewarding the outpouring, described it to me in an email interview:
For the first few days of the Outpouring, it seemed that repentance and forgiveness were almost all we could do. All over the room, people were making their way to another, tumbling over one another to make the first move of offering apologies, owning mistakes, forgiving grievances, and explaining misunderstandings. The front steps of Hughes were populated by people on their phones sending texts of reconciliation and restoration.
Thomas’s remarks were echoed by one of the transatlantic visitors. Al Gordon, a London pastor, reported feeling a weight in the air even in the parking lot.
“I was met with an overwhelming sense that I have to get right with Jesus,” he recounted. “Before I stepped into the chapel, I was crying out in repentance, confessing my pride, humbling myself before God.”
Asbury students led the way in modeling this wave of repentance. From the stage, hundreds shared their testimonies. Their stories would vary from simple things like, “I sensed Jesus inviting me to text a friend asking forgiveness for something in our relationship that was not quite right,” to dramatic transformations such as, “Three days ago I renounced witchcraft and gave my life to Jesus.”
Student leaders would also not allow anyone to lead worship who was not “authentically right with Jesus,” said Thomas. Instead of offering them and the guest speakers who came a standard green room, they created a “consecration room” where they were asked to receive prayer and ask for God’s forgiveness for any sins, prior to sharing anything from the platform.
A Call to Prayer
John the Baptist was born out of prayer, specifically those of his elderly parents. When the angel appeared to his father, Zechariah, his first words were, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard” (Luke 1:13).
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Christians have a glorious promise and a wonderful hope that they can cling to and take comfort in. Whether we are near the end of all things – at least the end of all old things – is not crystal clear. But whether the Lord returns in 2022 or some other time, we have a huge wedding to look forward to. With that in mind, we can repeat the prayer of John: “Come Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). I sure am ready – are you?

I had several things in mind to write about this last day of 2021. But as I was reading the closing chapters of the Bible, I decided that a quick look at Revelation 21:1-5 would be the way to close out the year, as it discusses how God will close out life on earth, and start a new heaven and new earth.
Let me say at the outset that this is a book full of mystery and wonder, and those who claim to have it all fully understood are far more confident – some might say arrogant – than I am. The extensive use of symbolism and imagery alone makes this a very difficult book to properly and conclusively interpret.
As such the advice Peter gave in regard to the writings of Paul seems even more appropriate to John, the author of the Apocalypse: “There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16).
But one thing that is clear is that a primary message of the book is that in the end God wins and his enemies lose. God is victorious. Regardless of how bad things have been for so long, God is the Victor and no one and nothing stands in his way. That is good news indeed.
And it is God the Son who is especially highlighted in this book. As the sacrificial lamb, prefigured so often in the Old Testament, Jesus is the all-conquering hero of the book. And we should not let the figure of a lamb (something Christ is called around 30 times in this book) mislead us. He may have come to earth the first time as a gentle sheep, but he returns as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, wreaking judgment on all his foes.
So he is both lamb and lion. With all this in mind, let me look a bit more closely at some of the closing words found in this book. The first five verses of the penultimate chapter of Revelation say this:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Those words alone should be of such tremendous comfort to all who have suffered so greatly during the past year – indeed, during the past 21 months. This global virus and various state responses to it have made that past year or two some of the most difficult that many of us – at least in the West – have ever experienced.
In the light of such tough times and dark days, the words of John in this book are a sweet comfort indeed. And Revelation is written not just for our benefit today, but for all God’s saints who have suffered so much over the centuries.
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