The western church is asleep. The Great Resignation from the false churches is proof of that fact.

People are gathering in buildings, but the western church is dead. For a genuine follower of Christ, it is like living in Siberia. The false church is disintegrating and the Great Resignation is in progress. Polynesian celestial navigation provides us an analogy for how we can endure to the end.

Naghmeh Panahi says that if anyone from the underground house-church movement in Iran or China comes to America, their first reaction is:

Wow, the church here is sleeping! The church is asleep, like there’s no church. People are gathering in buildings, but the church is dead.
— Naghmeh Panani: Surviving Persecution From the Church for Exposing Abuse, time mark 44:10 in Julie Roys’ podcast.

The atmosphere of the sleeping church makes those who love Christ feel like they are living in Siberia.

(Psalm 120:5-6, Robert Alter’s translation [Affiliate link])
Woe to me for I have sojourned in Meshech,
dwelled among the tents of Kedar.
Long has my whole being dwelled
among those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak,
they are for war.

Alter’s note:

Meshech/… Kedar. These are two far flung locations. Meshech is to the extreme northwest in Asia Minor, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea (it is mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10:2). Kedar is to the southeast in the Arabian peninsula. One might wonder about the history of the peregrinations of the speaker, but because it seems unlikely that a single person would have sojourned in both these places, it may be plausible to understand them as metaphors for living among people who behave like strangers, even if those people were within a stone’s throw of Jerusalem (as someone today might say, I feel as though I were living in Siberia or Timbuktu).

People are becoming educated in the truth of God’s Word and the Great Resignation from the false churches is proof of that fact.

Anne Marie, a reader of this blog, emailed me recently. She’s given me permission to publish her words.

I understand how Jeff Crippen deceives. I wrote to him once years ago and he used my writing in his next sermon; never responding to me. Since I followed his sermons online, his theft was immediately manifest. The following information may be helpful.

This is the Beginning of the Time of the Prophets.

Amos 3:7: “Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.”

The key here is plural — the prophets. For the most part, the prophets have been kicked out of the modern organized church because the Lord Jesus Christ has placed them in the church for correction. Therefore, the true prophet will suffer at the hands of brutish leadership in the current system. However, the Lord still requires the prophet to speak forth and uphold His Word.

Also, the time of the triumph of the false teachers is ending. Their successors are not able to deceive in the way of their predecessors; due to the tenacity of the prophets getting information to the people online. Look at how Andy Stanley is unable to deceive as his father Charles Stanley, and Mark MacArthur has been convicted of fraud, not able to hide his fraud as well as his father John MacArthur. So, with the passing of the old false teachers, their legacy ends. People are becoming educated in the truth of God’s Word and the Great Resignation from the false churches is proof of that fact. As people walk out of the churches, they have realized:

1. They are not being fed the Truth.
2. The leadership wants their money above all else.
3. The leadership functions upon abuse / oppression and gives abusers refuge.
4. The Word of God is distorted to heresy causing those who continue with them to be under a curse.
5. Those who uphold God’s Truth are openly maligned.
6. Sin flourishes.
7. Opportunity is taken to use the true believer.

I will address the last point here. The evil leader knows they do not have spiritual insight, therefore, they attempt to attach to the Spirit-filled believer by an organization, committee, writing, music, etc. They know of God’s favor for His children, and know every true believer has been given a particular message and ministry. Since the false teacher is unable to have spiritual insight due to their blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, they attempt to steal part of the blessing from God. They want that paycheck! Moreover, they must glean whatever they can by manipulation.

In this time of the last days, our Lord Jesus has given each of us a unique message, and we have also lived that message. We must continue not in the hope of changing the false church, but with the assurance that we are educating those around us. This next generation will be strong in the power of the pure Word, and nothing can stop it!

Joel 2:28-29: “It will come about after this that I will pour our My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

In His Name, and by His blood,

Anne Marie

What Anne Marie calls the Great Resignation is alluded to in Scripture. Here is one instance:

(John 10:4-5, NMB)
And when he has sent forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him. For they know not the voice of strangers.

The idols of the western church are disintegrating. Anne Marie mentioned some, and here’s another example: Elisabeth Eliot was abused by her third husband. Elisabeth Elliot, Flawed Queen of Purity Culture, and Her Disturbing Third Marriage — by Liz Charlotte Grant, the revealer, February 6, 2024.

(Matthew 10:22 NMB)
And you will be hated by all men for my name
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

How can a genuine believer who has the Holy Spirit endure the blind, sleeping, tranquilised and hypnotised church? This question has plagued me for years. It torments me to sit in a congregation and feel that I have no real spiritual connection with anyone else present. It hurts when I leave the service, whether I’ve left halfway through or at the end. The loneliness is excruciating. Their misunderstandings and misjudgements of me intensify my pain, and I know that few of them really deeply care, even though some of them mouth words of care occasionally. More often than not the “words of care” they utter only show me how little they understand — how little they really see me.

So the question is: how can a true believer endure with the church so deeply asleep? I’ve recently found an analogy that may help you endure.

Polynesian celestial navigation

How Polynesians use celestial navigation in ocean voyaging is analogous to how the true believer follows Christ in truth, to Him. Here is one Maori man explaining a bit about celestial navigation:

Everyone knows about Maui pulling land up out of the ocean, it’s not specifically a Maori story.

…a hei matau, a fish hook, is a symbol of ancient navigation, going back to Maui Tikitiki o-Taranga where he was given the jaw bone of his ancestors and he created a matau and he used that to pull the great fish from out of the ocean.

What we do when we navigate is we keep a vision of where we’re going in our minds. And we head towards that destination, that island. And when we’re getting close, the story of Maui comes to mind. Because when you see the island, it’s not us going to the island; it’s our pulling the island out of the ocean, so it comes to us. And the line between ourselves and the island is the path that we follow. And as we follow that path, we’re pulling that fish, and it’s pulling us to it. And when we get close, the island comes out of the ocean and looks like a fish being drawn to the canoe.

Whetū Mārama Bright Star: Hek Busby, The Wayfinder of the Pacific, time mark 36:00-38:40

“What we do when we navigate is we keep a vision of where we’re going in our minds.” Jesus is the island we going to. The Word gives us the line and hook by which we draw ourselves closer to Him and He draws us towards Himself. If the excerpt I’ve quoted does not mean much to you, I apologise. Watching the whole documentary may help you understand more. You may be able to  borrow the DVD from your local library — that’s what I did. 😊

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 RSV)

[Post updated 7 March 2024.]

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Further reading and listening

Ministry Watch: A Conversation with Naghmeh Abedini Panahi

Curious Reads: Dethroning the Queen of Purity Culture?: Elisabeth Elliot’s disturbing third marriage… and why I wrote about it — by Liz Charlotte Grant, February 9, 2024.

When The Man Comes Around — by Johnny Cash, YouTube, with lyrics and no triggering images.

Jeff Crippen is Unsafe — by Sister, Sept 2019, Jeff Crippen is Unsafe [Internet Archive link].

Tillamook Testimony Concerning Jeff Crippen — by Barbara Roberts.

Blindness exacerbated by individual choice — by Barbara Roberts.

Blindness exacerbated by group choice and group-leader choice — by Barbara Roberts.