Despite what seems to be bleak news and tough days ahead for Christians and churches, Pastor Mario Murillo believes there is a rising army of believers on earth who are backed by God's army in heaven.
Murillo spoke with Stephen Strang for Charisma's Strang Report on the coming awakening in America.
Strang inquired about the pastor's thoughts on the tough times people are experiencing.
"Well, the Bible is chock full of examples of how things looked versus how they really were," said Murillo.
He mentioned a Bible story of 10,000 soldiers being sent to seize Elisha and his assistant Gehazi as an example. While the young man was terrified by the sight of so many soldiers, the prophet Elisha comforted him by saying that those on their side exceeded those on the enemy's side.
Elisha then asked the Lord to open Gehazi's eyes so that he might also see what's happening in the spiritual realm. Gehazi was astonished because they were surrounded by a throng of fiery chariots, signifying that God's army was on hand to protect them if the earthly army attempted to assault them.
Seeing the spiritual realm is not wild talk in the Charismatic-Pentecostal tradition. They believe that the supernatural realm dictates what happens in the natural world.
"So to answer your question directly," he continued, "I'd like to comment that the millennials, Barna just released a report saying they don't believe in God. They don't want God. It sounded horrible until he got to a part of the report."
"It was very illuminating, because what he said was, that they're trusting in horoscopes, arts and media, meaning that their philosophical approach to spirit is feeling, an emotion," he added.
Murillo, who is also an evangelist, said that these phenomena among young people are not something they made up after investigating and seeing what is true. They have just grown more sensitive to spiritual realities.
"That's when it hit me," he said. "They are vulnerable to the presence and the glory of God. If they walk into a meeting and they feel the presence of God. And then I had to smile because you brought up resurrection city."
Murillo's optimism was based on the notion that the younger generation's spiritual senses are becoming keener in sensing a dimension of the world that defies science. But for born-again Christians, the opening of their spiritual senses will be entirely at the Spirit's discretion, not through tarot cards or other witchcraft.
He gave a more specific example of youth culture from 1966 to 1970. Many abandoned churches, others did not believe in God, and had a more general rejection of tradition and morality than they do now.
"So we've been through all this before," he went on. "And just like the hurricane center can say, we've been through all these before. There's going to be a drop in pressure. The winds are going to come in violently to equalize it, and that's what's going to happen in America. The youths are going to experience God, and that's what we're seeing in our 10th crusade."
Murillo described seeing one young guy who is a drug dealer come up to the front with a bag of marijuana, puts it on the floor, and runs to him, saying that he needs to be saved immediately during one of their tent crusades.
Don't wait to see a big fire. Looks for small fires
Another great example Murillo provided of the picture of revival in America is the small groups that meet for prayer and worship throughout the country on a regular basis. He compared them to the "small fires" that, according to firefighters, acted as the "ignition" for California's sweeping wildfires.
"Now, this is what's happening in California, in states all over the United States," he said. "They're small groups, and you know who you are, and you need to check in right now because you all need to know about each other's existence."
Hence, for Murillo, believers should no longer be described as a "remnant," but rather as a "popular uprising."
