A recent prophecy from Kim Clement said that youth from regions of the Far East and the Middle East will link up with young people in America. He went on to say that church leaders would condemn it.
From the current vantage point, my best guess at how this would happen is if youth in both spheres threw off the neglected teachings of the current leading generation—mainly Boomers and their older children in Gen X.
There is a myriad of sins which this older generation have utterly neglected. The most predominant is the “job description” of a “pastor”—the Bible never defines a “shepherd-teacher” as a “clergy” nor does the Bible describe any of the dominant activities of “professional pastors” as we know them today. That system has stunted the growth of the Body of Christ in many ways, which I have written about frequently, and even published one eBook to summarize the topic.
But, more specifically, when considering cultures of the Middle and Far East, in contrast to American culture, is the concept of “Shame”. Any American borne Asian can explain it to you, if you don’t know already. Ask, it would be good for you to know, in the likely event that these things come to pass.
Eastern Culture reveres reputation, but doesn’t understand the concept of forgiving. Friends part even before the drop of a hat, often for no reason at all, except pure misunderstanding. It harms families, governments, economies, and, most of all, the Body of Christ.
The gospel is based on the very concept of forgiveness—that friends are worth keeping and that enemies are worth converting into even the best of friends.
However, Eastern church leaders will tell you that forgiveness and reconciliation teachings from Scripture don’t apply in to all parts of the world. You’ll hear this nonsense even in the most reputed and upstanding Christian fellowships. If your American youth group travels to meet the “largest congregation” in some Eastern city, odds are, the older Christians—and especially their church leaders—will cling to shame and shun reconciliation when push comes to shove.
This problem has existed for decades. It has been discussed in many classrooms. Eastern leaders refuse to repent and, more appalling, Western leaders refuse to preach against it.
Christian college professors, even from my very own school, will teach that some areas of the world will not accept the full gospel and that Christians should reduce those matters to “cultural differences”, contorting related Scripture passages until they are so unrecognizable that Eastern leaders accept the bastardized results as “culturally relevant Bible teaching”.
The result: A la carte Christianity… The “pastor” can pick and choose which Scriptures to obey and which to dismiss, but we all have to keep working with him and going along with the terms he dictates, regardless of how much it destroys the progress of the gospel. That’s what we’re told, anyway.
Even when obeying the Bible makes the most sense, when it would solve the most problems, and people are most willing to listen, someone who believes the Bible stands up in defense of the Shame culture. It’s like Samwise watching Frodo try to keep the ring for himself, even after all he’s been through. It’s as if being defeated by Same culture turned our former friends into vampires who want to suck the blood from the Body. Every time I see it, it makes me sick all over again.
But there’s one problem with all this… young people aren’t going along with it… not in the Americas… nor in the East.
Young people don’t like nonsense and they welcome truth. We in the West often forget that we would live in the same “Shame” culture were it not for the gospel being rammed down our throats from birth.
When your parents don’t know how to admit they were wrong, even with the most obvious and minuscule of matters, it’s irritating, to say the least. This isn’t cultural, it’s human. And, even with all the bravado coming from leaders in both the West and the East, youth in both hemispheres want to obey the gospel. These youth will say: If Jesus didn’t intend that Matthew 18:15 apply to the whole world, then He SHOULD have!
In other words, Western leaders who defended the Shame game of the East may need to dust off their resumes in the next few years.
You may recall, before Roger Bannister ran the mile in four minutes, professors gave lectures and wrote books on how it “couldn’t” be done. Ever seen one of those books in a bookstore? I haven’t. They probably aren’t in print either, though the books that were printed may still be held up in some warehouse because no one bought them.
Today, we’re seeing young people do what old, indoctrinated, and entrenched leaders said “couldn’t” happen.
And that brings me back to Kim Clement’s prophecy. When he says that youth in the Middle and Far East will connect with young people in America—and that church leaders will stand up to condemn it—I don’t find the scenario all that inconceivable.
Kim Clement’s prophecy: http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=11954