It was a historic night at the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had arrived there and told the other disciples to sit waiting while He went yonder to pray. Alas! He didn’t go alone. He took with Him, three men – Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John). These were the very men who had seen more of Jesus than any other disciple. They had been with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Him. The glory of God the Son shone that night. They heard the very audible voice of the Father. They were the very few that had the deepest encounters with Christ than any other. Christ seemed to have revealed Himself the most to them than others. They knew things so sacred that other disciples didn’t know. They had built deeper capacity and intimacy walking closely with Christ.
On this fateful night, Christ told others to stay back while He took these three men along with Him and “began to be sorrowful and heavy” – Matthew 26:37. The next thing, Christ Himself voiced out,
“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with me”…; And He went (yet) further and fell on His face and prayed – Mat.26:38-39.
Christ, sorrowful unto death? The first pointer!!!
This night was really historic. Heaven was at a pause, with their entire focus on that Garden called Gethsemane. It was the night the prophets had long spoken about. The night that would usher in the great reconciliation between God and His most loved creature, Man. Since the separation at the Garden of Eden, God had so longed for his day. No other creature brought Him as much pleasure as Man – the one who was His exact image, in whom He had deposited godship or call it godliness, to reign over the domain of the universe below the third heavens – God’s own residing domain. And how much He loved mankind as to have poured out His entire Glory and likeness into them, the same glory he would not let Lucifer have. Hence God carefully arranged a plan and this night was the climax of it, heaven kept this a little secret. Here was the beginning of a new dispensation of Grace in the blood of Jesus Christ via which humanity would be saved from the very condemnation that ensued long ago at Eden on that day Adam lost his dominion at the garden. This was the beginning of the entire recreation of Man as God intended.
Alas! How ironic it was however, that the entire earth including mankind who was at the centre of this plan; slept on ignorantly as at any other night. Meanwhile, as ordinary as this seemed to every other person, it was a most sensitive time in God’s global agenda. Only one man understood, Jesus Christ, The very lamb God had chosen for this special plan.
Christ knew what lay just few hours ahead. The burden, the weight, the passion had never been heavier and for the first time in His life, He exclaimed, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death” so He called on these selected men, his most treasured human friends to partner with Him. He said “Tarry ye here and watch with me”.
If only these men knew the significance of this night; if only they understood the times and seasons; if only they had a little insight and understanding into God’s global agenda for humanity; if only they knew that herein before their very eyes was the fulfillment of the prophets (Matthew 26:56); no amount of tiredness, sleep or fatigue would have deterred them from being alert that night.
However, what was their crime? They knew not! Their time of visitation was here and they knew not. So on this most historic night, their sleep was indeed heavy. That very most important night which till date, serves as reference point in description of times and seasons, on such a night, the precious Apostles of Christ slept real heavy. The master returned to meet them sleeping, his heavy heart was broken and it was just then He asked that iconic question, “What, Could ye not watch with me one hour?” Here was Jesus in His greatest time of need, a need for partnership and not even the selected few were there to stand by Him.
It wasn’t long after He had gone to say His prayer again and returned, that the sleeping disciples were forcefully awakened to the reality of the times – Before their very eyes, The hour had come and the Big event unfolded! They were caught unawares!
There is a similar call upon the church today, to anyone who is sensitive enough. It’s another sensitive night in God’s global agenda. Isaiah declared “behold the darkness shall cover the nations” (Is 60:2). If only we knew the significance of this night time; if only we understood the times and seasons in relation to God’s global time line, if only we knew that herein before our very eyes is the fulfillment of not just the prophets but the very prophecies of Christ Himself; no amount of busy schedules would deter us, the church from being alert at this time. Note that:
1. The call to “tarry and watch with Him” is a higher call. Jesus did not make this call to just anyone. It was given to specifics. A very selected few who had walked closely with Christ – Peter, James and John
2. Christ did not express His sorrow and heaviness to everyone but only to the selected watchmen He called.“He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful” (Matthew 26:36-38). They had deeper access to His secrets and true feelings because they had in time past spent quality time with the master. They had access into the inner chambers of His heart.
3. It is a call to partnership – “tarry ye and watch with me”. He said “…with me”. So this is a partnership.
4. It is the will of the spirit to “TARRY AND WATCH” while the flesh wants to sleep in ignorance. “…the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
5. Watching saves us from the temptations and many pitfalls of the times. “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation…” (Matthew 26:41)
This call is not one to joke with. If there was ever any time to Watch with Him, that time is now than ever before. We live in the times when a lot the bible has said about the end are being fulfilled. Particularly, the signs of Matthew 24 which Jesus Himself gave about the end, are being fulfilled. And in that same chapter Matthew 24:42, Christ gave a command to the end time church – “to watch”.
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come”. Matthew 24:42;
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh”. Matthew 25:13
And then in the gospel of Luke,
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man”. Luke 21:36
However, it is alarming today, that most of us believers bluntly ignore this important and crucial command. Some of us, who have been called are so much engaged with the heavy sleep of Peter, James, John while a vast majority of other believers like the rest of the disciples that night, are not even aware of this call in the first place. We are generally neglecting that command to watch and hence, discerning nothing of the times. This is a big danger!
We cannot afford to sleep this last hour. Jesus is calling us again, “tarry with me and watch”. The call to “watch”, is a call to partner with God in another historic and significant season. The season of in-gathering of a massive harvest. Jesus said, “the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few”. It’s a call unto “responsibility”, to partner with God in reaping the End Time Harvest. What’s more, the harvest field is large enough to accommodate all labourers.
- To “Tarry” talks about waiting (in the secret place of prayer and intercession).
- To “watch” talks about being observant, taking our places on the city wall as Watchmen, (Like the eagle, when he waits in the secret place, not only is his strength renewed, but he senses the wind and takes decisive action to dive into the tide just on time. He soars on the wings of discernment and revelation. This is the place of the watching believers of this last days – Understanding and interpreting the signs we see and taking decisive action to alert the city.
- The city lies at the command of the Watcher! It is God’s will for us to watch with understanding and play our role to gather in the harvest. For in these days, scripture declares that ‘the’ darkness shall cover the people – financial crises around the globe, terrorism, natural disasters, political instability with lots of nuclear threats and violence. These are not to take the watcher unawares but in the place of understanding, the wise shall shine and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever ( Daniel 12:33; Isaiah 60:1-3) and kings shall come to the brightness of their light.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
For behold, the darkness (take note of the definite article “the”. It’s not just any darkness) shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
(Isaiah 60:1-3)
In the midst of the darkness – economic shaking here and there, revolutionary moral decay, political instability, terrorism and civil unrest – all of this happening because man has lost his original bearing and source from God’s own Kingdom; God is in the business of strategically positioning believers across the fields as a way of bringing the church to influence the world with His Kingdom, taking the lead and providing answers to this world’s questions and birthing God’s Kingdom culture on earth; all for the sole aim of winning souls to the Kingdom. And who are the vessels? You and I. We have chickened out of the scene enough.
For this cause, God is now in the business of stirring up an unusual grace of understanding within the body of Christ, that will make believers in the body of Christ to shine across various fields in this darkness infested world! Hallelujah!
I see “Wise Watchers” emerge in the political scene, in Academia, Film and Entertainment industries. I imagine Christian ‘Oprah Winfrey’s reaching out to the world through their talk shows, shaping up and repairing the faulty ideologies in publicly accepted standards and morals. A lot of man’s social ideas and standards are now enslaving him rather than granting him the intended freedom he thinks they are – “For there is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof is destruction” .
I see Wise Watchers in Science and Technology, filled with the spirit of God and delivering ground-breaking inventions and scientific discoveries that align with scriptures, pointing the atheist back to God again. I see Wise Watchers emerge in all fields of life, whose excellence shall outshine the gentiles and through whom God shall turn many to righteousness in His final attempt to rescue humanity. The end is near and this is God’s loving effort and game plan to save a dying world. If we as the watchmen refuse to partner and play our part, we are wicked and God will require the blood of the city from our hands (Ezekiel 3:17-21). Most importantly, God can use anybody, He can use stones. He is not looking for people to use, He is looking for people to bless! As my Father, David Oyedepo would say.
I don’t see the end time revival driven only from the pulpit by preachers and pulpit ministers. Yes, the Priest and the Prophet always have their place. They have the greatest of all tasks to carry out in these times which is leading the church in God’s intended direction but what God longs for is not a church of idle Christians listening to one priest; For God has called us the end time church,“a kingdom of Priests, a peculiar people” (1Peter 2:9). I see God empowering Wise Watchers with the power of the Holy Spirit to be ambassadors in the market place. We shall come to church on Sunday, catch the fire and spread it across the nations Monday through Saturday. I see Wise Watchers empowered to create wealth, the anointing for leadership, the anointing for witty inventions, Christian Movie Directors who would possess the gates of Holly Wood. Remember that the call is to tarry and watch. We must pray and intercede for the church and the global trends at large.
This website is my own little effort in response to this call, to enlighten us to:
- Understand God’s agenda;
- Discover our role in it;
- Play our active part in God’s end time prophecy;
- Intercede for the church at large and pray down God’s will.
Yes, you have a slot in this army and only ‘on the Wings of Revelation’ shall the Sons discover and arise to manifest their light upon the earth. “for the entrance of God’s word giveth light and understanding…”; “Arise shine for thy light (revelation) is come…” God’s word is the source of that revelation and an in-depth understanding of God’s word via His Spirit poured out upon the church, gives us access to this revelation which is the main focus of this website. Running with this, we shall birth God’s big picture and reap the harvest as “Wise Watchers” in partnership with Christ. I invite you to join my campaign!
God bless you.
Nonso Aniamaka,
Web Author at WISEWATCHERS ONLINE COMMUNITY