Isaiah Roman

The Third Great Awakening

Among the headlines of the attacks on Herman Cain and the plane crash in Poland I see a little reported and barely visible article on Glenn Beck at John Hagee’s church announcing “the Third Great Awakening.” Glenn touts a return to God through his efforts to encourage solidarity with Israel and Hagee is a dual-dispensationalist from way back. This makes for an interesting mix; John Hagee and Glenn Beck. What’s so interesting? The fact that the crowd was an overflow crowd of more than seven thousand.

Here we have a universalist, Glenn Beck, who believes that all beliefs in God are basically the same, and a supposed Christian pastor of a mega-church together promoting the idea that a new awakening is going to happen in this country. I wonder, does anyone besides me find this even slightly disturbing? Yet, the message was met with thunderous applause.

I said some time ago that Glenn Beck is a prophet. The things he says will come true. But I’ve also said that this prophet is not a prophet of God. It reminds me of what he said during his rally on the mall. During his speech he said that there would be a man who would stand on that mall, a man who would bring this country back. If there is a new awakening – of sorts – and that awakening is lead by this idea of universalist religion, then what does that really mean for us as a people?

The idea that we all need to unite under a central banner is basically true, but who is carrying that banner? Right now, in this instance, it’s a Mormon, who believes that the Jews are equally sanctified in God’s eyes. That means a peaceful Israel, united against it’s enemies. That means a completed nation, with Jerusalem as it’s capital.

We, as a people, are confused. We are looking for clear leadership, clear ideas. You can only live in strife and chaos for so long. That is a dangerous thing. When you’re desperate for order in a world of chaos, you’ll grab onto anything that seems solid and sane.

You can pass this off as a non-item if you want. You can ignore this movement towards a more religious, a more spiritual society. You can pass this off as the ravings of a mad-man. As for me, I’m watching with a sharp eye.