"Thousands Have Quit Following" Dream (2015)

[Talons]

"Thousands Have Quit Following!" Dream (2015)

18 Walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. (Matthew 4:18-20)

The first thing Jesus did in His ministry was call men to follow Him. I received the following dream in 2015, and based on the Spirit recalling it to my memory, I now believe I know what it was about. Many churches are refusing to follow their denomination's leadership, but those who have embraced homosexual inclusion have essentially quit following the Lord, something that is now bringing great dismay to the courts of Heaven.

I am standing in Heaven and there is book that no one can open. I am now crouched down with my face on the firmament and I am crying because there is no one to open the book. I am told they have found some One to open the book, so I stand back up and hear this. A loud booming voice reporting, "10,000* Quit Following!", "8,000* Quit Following!", "12,000* Quit Following!" and on and on the numbers and "quit following" continued. There was a great bitterness and disdain in the booming voice as the numbers were read out.

The next morning when I awoke I was all happy and felt great, which is very unusual for me. The numbers were always in the thousands, but what the exact numbers are I don't recall that is what the * is about.

So is this what my dream was about? I remembered my dream when I heard about the UMC schism, and many of the conservative Methodist churches now leaving their denomination rather than embrace homosexual inclusion amongst the clergy. Though the conservatives were leaving a very old and established Christian denomination, those staying to embrace homosexuality may be the ones God was speaking of, who have now "quit following" the Lord to stay in their denomination.

United Methodists Down 7,659 Churches As Exit Window Ends​

1 in 4 UMC congregations have now disaffiliated in the largest US denominational schism since the Civil War. Will African Methodists leave next?
KATE SHELLNUTT AND DANIEL SILLIMAN|DECEMBER 18, 2023 01:00 PM

The rupture of the United Methodist Church (UMC) is nearly complete. As the window closes on a temporary plan allowing disaffiliations, nearly 1 out of 4 of the denomination’s 30,000 congregations decided to split over issues of sexuality and authority.

This month marked the final push to exit before the December 31 deadline. In that time, another 74 churches in Florida voted to leave, plus 51 more in Illinois, 152 in Mississippi, 8 in New Mexico, and 36 across three regions in Texas... In the South and Midwest, the UMC lost hundreds of churches this year. Nearly 500 exited the denomination in Tennessee, along with 750 in Texas, 672 in North Carolina, 623 in Georgia, 598 in Ohio, 452 in Pennsylvania, and 345 in Virginia. In some conferences, more than half of churches are no longer part of the UMC.

When regional conferences ratified the last batch of disaffiliations, the tally came to 5,642 congregations departing in 2023 and a total of 7,659 over the past four years, according to United Methodist News. The thousands of disaffiliations represent the conclusion of decades of UMC debates, proposals, and gatherings focused on sexuality...
30,000 congregations decided to split over issues of sexuality and authority.

 

[Hidden In Him]

The numbers were always in the thousands, but what the exact numbers are I don't recall that is what the * is about.

I'm guessing the * was God's way of leaving the space blank regarding which denomination was specifically being referred to, because many of them have been drifting in this same direction since the dream was first given, and I've received dreams to the effect that the Catholic Church eventually will as well.

But back around 2015 is when the Presbyterians were going through this process, and congregations were having to decide between continuing to follow the Lord or follow their denomination's new direction instead.

Presbyterians seek unity — or amicable split — on gay clergy​

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Annysa Johnson - February 3, 2014
MILWAUKEE

In recent years, as Christian denominations voted to allow openly gay and lesbian clergy, hundreds of congregations have broken away to affiliate with more theologically conservative bodies. It is a painful process, often fraught with acrimony, recriminations and lawsuits over property... about 260 congregations have left the 2.8 million-member Presbyterian Church USA, said the Rev. Gradye Parsons, who serves as the stated clerk of the church’s general assembly in Louisville. Similar schisms have erupted in the Episcopal Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Presbyterians seek unity—or amicable split—on gay clergy

Presbyterians seek unity—or amicable split—on gay clergy

www.pcusa.org

________________________

Gay and Lesbian Presbyterians marked it as a "day of celebration" when the decision was made to admit homosexual membership into the clergy. But had they been listening to what the Spirit was saying, there should be no celebration when an entire denomination decides to quit following the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ to pursue their own.

Presbyterian Church Votes To Allow Openly Gay And Lesbian Clergy​

In Historic Shift, Presbyterian Church Will Allow Gay Clergy


By Jaweed Kaleem
May 10, 2011, 09:06 PM EDT
Updated Dec 6, 2017

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) passed a historic measure Tuesday evening allowing openly gay men and women in same-sex relationships to be ordained as clergy. The move reflects a monumental shift in the 2.8 million-member church, which, along with other mainline Protestant denominations, has had increasingly contentious debates and struggles over issues pertaining to gay and lesbian members and clergy. A majority of the church's regional bodies, or presbyteries, defeated a similar measure to allow gay clergy two years ago.

"This is quite a day of celebration," said Michael Adee, the executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a Minnesota-based church group that has pushed to allow openly gay clergy in recent years. "We've restored the longstanding Presbyterian understanding of ordination: that the most important qualifications are related to faith, not marital status or sexuality."

In Historic Shift, Presbyterian Church Will Allow Gay Clergy

In Historic Shift, Presbyterian Church Will Allow Gay Clergy

www.huffpost.com