Isaiah 52:1-2: „1 Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Yerushalaim, the holy city: for henceforth there will no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Yerushalaim: loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion“
This verse can be understood as an urgent call to revival. Before a major revival becomes visible, a person -even a Christian- must first be personally revived, that is, awake. Where revival is needed, sleep prevails beforehand.
Of course, this does not refer to our natural sleep, which every person needs so that the body can recover from the day’s activities and recharge its strength. However, as we shall see below, there are parallels between physical and spiritual sleep, which enables us to better understand the background and context of spiritual sleep.
1) Sleep
„Wake up!“, is what one says to someone who is still asleep. We shall hear later on that, in a spiritual sense, sleep is also equivalent to death.
Natural causes of tiredness
When one is tired, one wants to sleep. We become tired, for example, due to:
- Work
- Illness
- Medicines, drugs, alcohol
- Depression, worries, anxiety
- Comfort, luxury, food
- Hypnosis
This list, of course, does not claim to be exhaustive, as this is not a scientific or medical treatise. It should, however, be clear that the causes of spiritual fatigue frequently overlap with the points above. This becomes clear from the following example (alcohol):
„29 Who has woe? who has sorrow? who has contentions? who has babbling? who has wounds without cause? who has redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it gives his color in the cup, when it moves itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes will behold strange women, and thine heart will utter perverse things. 34 Yes, you will be as he that lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lies upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, will you say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when will I awake? I will seek it yet again“ (Proverbs 23:29–35).
Here we learn that the person who indulges in alcohol to excess becomes confused and finds themselves in a state of sleep. As long as they do not cease from their vice, they will not wake up.
Causes of spiritual weariness
Sin
The Bible calls a vice such as the one mentioned above ‘sin’. Sin leads you into spiritual sleep, even spiritual death. In James 1:14–15 it is written:
„14 But each is tempted, when he is lured by his own lust, and caught with bait. 15 After lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin, being accomplished, gives birth to death„.
Your slumber robs you of your strength. Life is no longer there: „Therefore he says: Awake you who sleeps, and arise from the dead, and Mashiah will shine upon you“ (Ephesians 5:14).
Sloth and negligence
In Proverbs we read many verses about sloth. Here are just a few of them:
Proverbs 19:15: „Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul will suffer hunger“.
Proverbs 6:6-11: „6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. 9 How long will you sleep, O sluggard? when will you arise out of your sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So will your poverty come as one that travelleth, and your want as an armed man“
Proverbs 22:13: „The slothful man says: There is a lion without, I will be slain in the streets“
What we so easily forget time and again is the fact that it is not only doing evil that is sin, but also failing to do good: „Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin“, teaches us James 4:17.
Through your laziness, you delay Elohim’s (God’s) good plan and render His Word ineffective, so that it bears little or no fruit. Thus, laziness or negligence is tantamount to disobedience towards Elohim, which brings us to the next point.
Disobedience
Our great problem, ever since Adam, has been our disobedience. Eve was seduced, hypnotised or enchanted by the serpent, so to speak. Adam, however, deliberately disobeyed Elohim’s command.
Romans 6:16: „Do you not know, that when you offer yourselves as slaves to obey him, you are slave to who you obey, either of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?“.
If Elohim has instructed you to do something and you do not do it, then you render His word powerless. You do not honour His name and have no respect for Him. The same applies in reverse, if Elohim has forbidden you to do something and you do it anyway.
We find an example of disobedience that was punished in the book of 1 Samuel 15. After repeatedly disregarding Elohim’s commands, Saul was deposed as king. The prophet Samuel declared at the time:
„22 […] Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to hear attentively than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry …“ (1 Samuel 15:22-23).
Idolatry
This brings us to the final cause of spiritual slumber. A lengthy passage from the Epistle to the Corinthians has much to say on this subject:
„1 Moreover I would not that you should be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and were all baptized into Moshe in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and they all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock following, and the rock was Mashiah. 5 But with most of them Elohim was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became types to us, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 And let us not prostitute ourselves, as some of them prostituted themselves, and fell in one day 23,000. 9 And let us not tempt Mashiah, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by the serpents. 10 And do not murmur, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as types, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived. 12 So let him thinking to stand beware that he does not fall! 13 No temptation has taken you, except human. But Elohim, faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation he will also make a way out, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry […] 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than he. 23 All things are lawful for me, but not all are profitable; all things are lawful for me, but not all things build up“ (1 Corinthians 10:1–14, 21–23).
What are the effects of sleep?
All these conditions for sleep have an effect on the flesh. When one ‘sleeps’, one is a carnal person.
Poverty, want, hunger
We have read in Proverbs 6:10–11: „10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So will your poverty come as one that travelleth, and your want as an armed man„.
Proverbs 19:15: „Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul will suffer hunger“.
Loss of time
A person who sleeps loses precious time. That is why we must wake up.
Witchcraft
Spiritual sleep is very dangerous. While you slumber, demons and sorcerers can do whatever they please with you and in your surroundings.
Death
Earlier we read that sin brings death in its wake. Ever since Adam and Chavvah (Eve) sinned against Elohim through their lust, all people have been subject to death:
„For dust you are, and to dust will you return“ (Genesis 3:19).
The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 21, Verse 25, also states:
„The desire of the slothful kills him; for his hands refuse to labor“.
The big question now is how we can wake up from this barren, deadly life and break free from it. Of course, one might say: You need discipline! But human methods cannot help us. It is like New Year’s resolutions. Most of the time, they are broken after a while. That is why we want to consider how the Bible views revival.
2) Revival
How does revival happen?
Revival is spiritual. Those who awaken are awakened by the Holy Spirit. Yehoshua (Jesus) makes it clear to us:
„No one can come to me, except the Father who has sent me draws him, and I, I will raise him up on the last day“ (John 6:44).
The grace of Elohim as the starting signal
No one can therefore claim to have awakened of their own accord. It is not our own merit when we awaken, but an undeserved gift:
„23 for all have sinned, and do not reach the glory of Elohim, 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Yehoshua Mashiah“ (Romans 3:23–24).
By grace, Elohim does everything so that man may awaken and not perish. That is why the Lord also allows people to go through certain suffering. This can then be seen as Elohim’s wake-up call in the darkness:
„Therefore he says: Awake you who sleeps, and arise from the dead, and Mashiah will shine upon you“ (Ephesians 5:14).
Faith in Yehoshua
Death, and thus also sleep, was conquered by Yehoshua. That is why he is the best and only recourse for personal awakening.
Romans 6:8–11: „8 For if we have died with Mashiah, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 Knowing that Mashiah having been raised from the dead dies no more, death has no longer dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died for sin once: but in that he lives, he lives for Elohim. 11 Likewise you also, consider yourselves to be truly dead to sin, but alive to Elohim in Yehoshua Mashiah our Lord„.
The Bible says that we are saved only through the name of Yehoshua. By placing our trust in Yehoshua, we no longer need to trust in our own plans. If we lose faith in Yehoshua, we also lose love. That is why we must remain close to Yehoshua, in his presence:
„… And this is the victory having conquered the world: our faith“ (1 John 5:4).
Conversation with Elohim: Prayer
When the Lord says to you as a Christian, „Wake up!“, it means that you have become carnal and are doing the very things you once rejected.
Then do everything you can to reconnect with Elohim! It is better to withdraw from all the things of the world: television, mobile phones, food, and even people. Seek intimacy with Elohim and do not allow anyone or anything to disturb you. Then the Lord can set you free from the things that bind and hold you captive.
The Bible passage in which Yehoshua teaches the disciples closest to him in the Garden of Gethsemane how to move from sleep to awakening also provides insight:
„40 And he comes to the disciples, and finds them sleeping, and he says to Petros: So, you were not able to watch with me one hour! 41 Watch and pray, so that you do not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak“ (Matthew 26:40–41).
Here, once again, the conflict between flesh and spirit that we have already mentioned is expressed. To overcome our slumbering, carnal nature, we must pray. The Lord will give us all further guidance and instructions: what we should continue to refrain from and what we should do…
Sanctification: Liberation from the bonds
In any case, Elohim will lead us into a life of sanctification, in which we (must) give up the old in order to bring about the new.
A vision that someone received from Elohim sheds light on this: It showed how a person was tied to a post with a long, elastic cord. This person was quite able to move freely within a certain radius, indeed even to go quite a long way, as the cord was stretchy. However, if this person tried to cross a certain point, they were suddenly snapped back. Only then did the person realise that they were unfree and bound.
This is meant to show us that there are still invisible chains binding us, from which we must be set free if we wish to see revival and experience more with Elohim. Our opening Bible verse also speaks of these chains:
„loose yourself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion“ (Isaiah 52:2)
These chains, or elastic cords, consist of old habits, ways of thinking and character traits, and emotional ties to certain people or things. One can only be freed from all this by accepting Elohim’s counsel and obeying His instructions. He then leads us into a life of sanctification, in which our soul is freed from old bonds. It is thus transformed into the image of Elohim:
„Therefore if anyone is in Mashiah, he is a new creature. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new“ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This spiritual separation and transformation is often painful, because our old nature, the so-called flesh, does not want to let go. Thus we find ourselves in difficult situations in which the Lord compels us to let go and set out anew. This is what a life of sanctification looks like. Those who are unwilling to pay this price never fully awaken and therefore do not come to Elohim.
The priest Eli as a negative example
Someone who is asleep does not initially realise that they need to wake up. If you are not aware of your condition, you cannot wake up. Elohim therefore shakes people awake and gives them various warnings.
This was also the case with the priest Eli, whose story is told in 1 Samuel. It should be noted that Eli was already a priest in the temple at Shiloh, which at that time was the centre for the people of Israel. The priest was therefore already serving YHWH. But there were things in his life that did not honour the Lord and for which he needed to be shaken awake.
Even in Chapter 1, it is striking that Eli had little sensitivity to the Spirit of Elohim. For he condemned the desperate Hannah, who was pleading with Elohim in the temple because of her desire for a child.
Later, a prophet came to Eli and warned him about the behaviour of his sons, whom Eli had not raised in the fear of the Lord and who were doing all manner of terrible things before Elohim.
A few years later, the Lord sent the boy Shemuel (Samuel) to be taught by Eli, in order to teach him another lesson. Through the boy’s mouth, the Holy Spirit spoke to Eli about his sons. Even as a child, Shemuel prophesied that Elohim would avenge the sins of Eli and his sons. Elohim gives the following reason:
„For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knows; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not“ (1 Samuel 3:13).
Eli did nothing when he saw that his children were transgressing against Elohim. He simply refused to be awakened by the Holy Spirit and thus brought disaster upon his entire family.
But where was the sticking point? Let us recall the steps of revival (1. Elohim’s grace stirs us awake, 2. Faith in Elohim, 3. Prayer, 4. Sanctification). The word of Elohim had come to Eli; Elohim had therefore fulfilled His part.
„… But the word they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard“ (Hebrews 4:2).
Aha. What Eli lacked was the very same thing the Israelites lacked during their journey through the wilderness: namely, point 2: faith. This lack of faith also prevented Eli from fulfilling points 3 and 4, namely the persistent prayer for his family and their revival.
The Garment: the Power of Elohim and Righteous Deeds
The priest Eli was never fully aware of his priesthood and his standing before Elohim. That is why he also ignored the power of Elohim, which was always at his disposal and with which he could have fought the sin in his family. That is precisely the significance of the priestly garments.
„Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Yerushalaim, the holy city: for henceforth there will no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean“ (Isaiah 52:1)
The following vision also speaks of this robe of splendour: Someone saw a woman wearing a garment. A man came with a sword, cut off the outer robe, and a wedding dress appeared beneath it. In the end, the old garment hung only from the front of the arm and needed only to be cut away there. The vision is a symbol of how Yehoshua Mashiah, through his word, cuts away the old from us, so that the robe of splendour of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) is revealed.
„7 Rejoice and exult, and give him glory, for the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his Wife prepared herself. 8 And it was given to her to wear fine linen, pure and shining. For the fine linen is the righteous act of the saints„ (Revelation 19:7–8)
In summary, the following passage also speaks of sleep, of awakening and of the new garment:
„11 Even this, seeing the time, because already it is the hour for us to rise up out of sleep. For now our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night has advanced, and the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and be clothed with the weapons of light. 13 Let us walk decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in cohabitation and unbridled lust, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But be clothed with the Lord Yehoshua Mashiah, and do not take care of the flesh, for its desires“ (Romans 13:11–14).
Yehoshua is therefore the way out
Man desires to satisfy his flesh. But Elohim requires us to crucify our flesh, just as Yehoshua said:
„… If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me“ (Luke 9:23).
Thus Elohim shows us that instead of our former burden-namely, the cares and sins of the world-he gives us another burden: his cross. This new burden of Yehoshua, however, is liberating and good for us:
„28 Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [Ah, this is a different kind of rest from the sleep discussed so far] 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 Because my yoke is easy and my burden is light“ (Matthew 11:28-30).
The place where we can rest is the heavenly Yerushalayim, Mount Zion. That is the true, restorative rest of Elohim.