Revd. K.

Sibisi- D1068 Revival History: Course number DM706

Team Impact Christian University

Degree : Doctoral Studies in Ministry

Course : Revival History

Course Number : DM706

Student Name : Khulekani Sipho Sibisi

Student Number : D1068

Date : September 2023

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 Revd. K. Sibisi- D1068 Revival History: Course number DM706

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:
1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 3

Chapter 2: What is Revival ............................................................................... 4

2.1 The God of Revival………………………………………………………… 4
2.2 Biblical Words for Revival………………………………………………... 4
2.3 Revival Definitions………………………………………………………… 6

Chapter 3: Revival Praying ............................................................................... 10

3.1 The Revival Heart ………………………………………………………… 10
3.2 Simultaneous Audible Prayer…………………………………………….. 12
3.3 Watchmen on the Wall……………………………………………………. 14

Chapter 4: Revival Characteristics ................................................................... 22

4.1 Preliminary Revival Indicators…………………………………………… 22
4.2 Characteristics During a Revival…………………………………………. 25
4.3 Characteristics of Biblical Revivals………………………………………. 34

Chapter 5: Revival Fire ...................................................................................... 38

5.1 Holy Fire……………………………………………………………………. 38
5.2 The Fire Anointing………………………………………………………… 42
5.3 People on Fire……………………………………………………………… 46

Chapter 6: Revival Fruit.……………………………………………………… 51

6.1 Conversion Growth………………………………………………………… 51
6.2 Reawakening the Church………………………………………………….. 54
6.3 Transformation in Revival………………………………………………… 57

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………. 63
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….. 64

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 Revd. K. Sibisi- D1068 Revival History: Course number DM706

Revival History

Chapter 1
1.1. Introduction
The Bible is filled with a sequence of episodes of divine intervention and visitation where
God repeatedly displays His glory and His power in the midst of His people. Even the most
casual observer can see this. The history of revival also confirms that our God has never
stopped working in this way. Every generation needs these sovereign visitations and
outpourings of the Holy Spirit and they need many of them. The present generation is no
exception.
The 5-Fold Global mandate to equip and empower a new generation of leaders and believers
who will fulfil the book of Acts in the power of the Holy Spirit and multiply the harvest
through strategic prayer, power evangelism, Spirit filled discipleship, and church planting
aligned with God’s word cannot be done without a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit and
fire. We need the revival fire that only comes from heaven. It needs to suddenly strike us like
lightning to awaken us to the heavenly task before it’s too late. There’s an urgency in this as
we observe the spread of evil throughout the nations with the knowledge that billions of souls
will be condemned to the eternal fire of hell unless someone quickly stands in the gap and
prays for revival.
Why do we need this revival fire? Are we not already labouring together in the harvest fields
of the nations? Isn’t our ministries and programs expanding and moving forward by the grace
of God. Of course, but we must not place our trust in these things we have organized,
planned, and are doing. Our only source for the ministry is the power of God, the power of
the Holy Spirit. Revival is God’s plan! It’s God acting and not man.
Dr. Michael D. Gross
5-Fold Global Ministries
[Link]

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Chapter 2
What is Revival
2.1. The God of Revival
Jesus said that if you know the truth it will make you free. It’s necessary to take a closer look
at these verses of Scripture to establish a fundamental truth regarding the subject of revival:
Our God is the God of revival!
John 8:31-36 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word,
you are My disciples indeed.” And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage
to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. “And a slave does not abide in
the house forever, but a son abides forever. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall
be free indeed.
The first thing Jesus tells the Judeans who heard and believed Him is that true disciples
“abide in My word.” This is opposite of what’s trending in the church today. And what’s
trending? It’s a casual approach to God’s word. Social justice and self-help/feel good
messages are the popular messages of the day in many pulpits. The people have itching ears
for these motivational messages, but there’s no anointing or power to convict or free anyone
from sinful conditions. It’s got a hold upon the new generation. Not everyone, but enough to
create an atmosphere in sanctuaries deprived of the reviving fire, life, and power of
Pentecost.
Another thing in this brief examination of these verses is the emphasis on knowing the truth.
What does this mean? The Jewish believers were engulfed in their religious affiliations
whereas Jesus was focused upon the condition of hearts. The God of revival brings an
acknowledgment of truth; a conviction upon the hearts and minds of people revealing the
truth about sin and the gripping reality of one’s spiritual condition. This is why there is
always much uncontrollable weeping and agony of souls in revivals; a crying out to the Lord
for mercy. Knowing the truth is beyond simply gaining knowledge or important factual
information. There’s a recognition; a spiritual understanding that Jesus, the Son of God, is my
only hope to release me from the burden of my sin. Notice the divine and progressive order
revealed in “abiding.” According to The Spirit Filled Life Bible, the Greek, ginosko, is the
“knowledge that has an inception, a progress, and an attainment. It is the recognition of
truth by personal experience.”1 So it’s not enough to have a factual knowledge of and
acceptance of certain important biblical truths. The Bible tells us the Word is the “sword of
the Spirit.” (Eph. 6:17).
And Jesus’s name in glory is called “The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13) and the name written
on His thigh is, “King of Kings and Lord or Lords.” (Rev. 19:16). In revival, the Word is
engraved upon our hearts by the Spirit of truth. Revival burns the truth upon the hearts and
minds of people and also upon the church.
2.2. Biblical Words for Revival

1
Spirit Filled Life Bible, World Wealth 8:32, p. 1589

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 Revd. K. Sibisi- D1068 Revival History: Course number DM706

Some say there is no words for revival in the Bible. Although they may present a technical
argument, there remains strong and convincing evidence for revival in Scripture. The
following verses from Ezra contain an important spiritual connection that is overlooked in
most modern translations.
Ezra 9: 8-9 NKJV Ezra 9: 8-9 NLT
“And now for a little while grace has been “But now we have been given a brief moment
shown from the LORD our God, to leave us of grace, for the LORD our God has allowed
a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has
His holy place, that our God may enlighten given us security in this holy place. Our God
our eyes and give us a measure of revival in has brightened our eyes and granted us some
our bondage. 9 “For we were slaves. Yet relief from our slavery. 9 For we were slaves,
our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but in his unfailing love our God did not
but He extended mercy to us in the sight of abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused
the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He
the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of
and to give us a wall in Judah and our God and repair its ruins. He has given us
Jerusalem. a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

Source: Dr. Michael D. Gross: 5-Fold Global Ministries

The Hebrew noun, michyah (mikh-yaw), used in Ezra 9:8 refers to preservation of life and
sustenance. However, according to Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon the
word also carries the meaning “reviving.”2 In addition, God causes our eyes to shine with
spiritual enlightenment. This expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” So to give the
impression of revival in these verses as merely some relief from difficult circumstances of
life doesn’t quite capture the full picture. God granted His covenant people with a natural and
spiritual “reviving” necessary for the glorious restoration that followed. The spiritual
connection and impact of revival is paramount in all God’s dealings with His people. Even
Joseph understood this when he explained to his brothers God’s long range plan to “revive”
the lives of His people.
Genesis 45:5 But now, do not therefor be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold
me here; God sent me before you to preserve life.
The church today needs to look beyond a day to day existence to behold her desperate need
for revival.
There are a number of verses in the Bible that include the English translation of revive,
revived, reviving. The one’s chosen here are those that directly refer to revival. The Hebrew,
chayah (khaw-yaw), is used in these verses. The meaning is “to live, have life, remain alive,
sustain life, live forever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.” This is
certainly what happens in revival.
 Genesis 45:27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them,
and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their
father revived.

2
Brown, Driver, Brigs, Hebrew and English Lexicon (Unabridged), 3015 (Hebrew), p. 313.

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 Judges 15:19 So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and
he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En
Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
 1 Kings 17:22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child
came back to him, and he revived.
 2 Kings 13:21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band
of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let
down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
 Psalm 80:18 Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon
Your name.
 Psalm 85:6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?
 Psalm 119:25 DALETH. My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your
word.
 Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, That Thy word has revived me.
 Psalm 119:149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive
me according to Your justice.
 Psalm 119:156 Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to
Your judgments.
 Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose
name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and
humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the
contrite ones.
The New Testament is also filled with revival images and words of life that indirectly and in
a few cases directly correspond to revival. You may wonder why the actual word for revival
is not used more in the New Testament. The author and evangelist Winkey Pratney answers
that question best. It’s “for the simple reason that New Testament Christianity is revived
Christianity.”3 The New Testament documents the greatest time of revival in all of history
from the birth of Christ to the spread of Christianity in Pentecost power through the early
church.
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefor and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times
of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
There are a number of biblical examples of revival that will be examined later, but just a brief
glance at the above verses help us to clearly see the need for revival and that God is indeed
the God of revival.
2.3. Revival Definitions
It’s important to review some of the scholarly definitions for revival in an attempt to more
clearly understand its characteristics and impact upon our lives. The renowned revival
historian, J. Edwin Orr, presents this definition for his readers in his classic detailed work
entitled, The Flaming Tongue:

3
Pratney, Winkie. Revival: Principles to Change the World. Agape Force: Lindale, TX 1984, 2010, p.
20

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“The revitalizing of a body of Christian believers, and 'awakening' for the stirring of interest
in the Christian faith in the related community of nominal Christians or unbelievers.” 4
This description of revival appears to cover major areas that are affected by revivals such as
the church, backsliders and unbelievers, and the society at large, but is a bit light on the
spiritual power behind revivals. On the other hand, evangelist and author Winkie Pratney
says, “True revival is marked by powerful and often widespread outpourings of the Spirit.”5
In defining revival, Pratney takes a very practical approach beginning with the Webster’s
Dictionary meaning of a “return, recall or recovery to life from death or apparent death; as
revival of a drowned person.” Then he describes what revival is by presenting four things
that it does.6
1. Revival brings something back to life that is either now dead or seemingly dead.
2. Revival brings a holy shock to apathy and carelessness.
3. Revival restores truth and recalls to obedience that which has been forgotten.
4. Revival accomplishes what our best spiritual efforts cannot and is necessary to
counteract spiritual decline and to create spiritual momentum.
In short revival, according to Pratney, is a repeated outpouring of the Spirit that brings life
and a renewed awakening with a holy shock that restores truth.
The great prophetic prayer warrior, Leonard Ravenhill, makes a very important point about
our modern understanding of revival:
“Our current use of the word revival is a misuse. We use it to announce the yearly “revival
meeting” – a week’s meeting with an evangelist and perhaps a singer. Such a meeting is
usually geared to the unsaved. But we cannot revive what has never had life. Revival to the
European believers is correctly thought of as an awakening, such as the nation-transforming
visitation from God through George Whitefield and then the Wesleys in England. Or the
earth-shaking move of the Spirit in New England through Jonathan Edwards, later joined by
Whitefield. Any true revival can be proven by the fact that it changed the moral climate of an
area or a nation.”7
Taking the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of revival as “a reawakening of religious fervor”
or as he prefers “of spiritual life,” he accurately sees that “revival presupposes declension,
sickness, weakness” and really shakes things up. Ravenhill’s list of the “offense of true
revival” vividly portrays just how much God shakes things in revival:8
1. It cannot be organized. (The wind bloweth where it listeth.)
2. It cannot be subsidized. (It does not need financial backing)

4
Orr, J. Edwin. The Flaming Tongue: The Impact of Twentieth Century Revivals. Moody Press:
Chicago 1973, p. ix
5
Pratney, pp. 14-15
6
Ibid. pp. 12-13
7
Ravenhill, Leonard. Revival God’s Way: A Message for the Church. Bethany House Publishers:
Bloomington, MN, 1983, p. 63
8
Ibid. p. 64

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3. It cannot be advertised. (There is nothing more self-advertising than a fire, and

revival is fire from heaven)
4. It cannot be computerized. (God alone knows the extent of His power)
5. It cannot be regularized. (We cannot lay a theological track for it to operate on)
6. It cannot be rationalized. (It is a divine mystery beyond finite minds)
7. It cannot be denominationalized. (It leaps over doctrinal barriers)
8. It cannot be nationalized. (Preachers by the hundreds have been flying to Korea to
see what God has done in that country. Most have gasped at the packed churches and
returned sad that our mechanical services are so sterile)
The above is consistent with what God prophetically declares in His word. Compare Haggai
2:4-7 with Hebrews 12:25-29.
 Haggai 2:4-7 ‘Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD; ‘and be strong,
Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’
says the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts. 5 ‘According
to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit
remains among you; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it
is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 ‘and I will shake
all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple
with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
 Hebrews 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not
escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we
turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth;
but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also
heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are
being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may
remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us
have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29
For our God is a consuming fire.
Many leaders are unaware and unprepared that their greatest and dearest plans and programs
for church and ministry will be blown up when revival comes. It’s “bombs away” when a
revival is unleashed from heaven upon the church. Revival is also like a spiritual earthquake
or tornado or tsunami tidal wave of the Holy Spirit. The motion of the wind of His Spirit
powerfully agitates and causes natural man to tremble and cry out before God. The greatest
plans of man are overthrown in the process. In an instant, people are transferred from the
natural into the spiritual with each tremor brought on by repeated outpourings of the Holy
Spirit. Multitudes are overcome by the tidal waves of the Holy Spirit in revival. Notice also
that the shaking precedes the filling of the temple. The kingdom of God is the only thing left
standing. And this is what we see in the Early Church as recorded in the book of Acts.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones captures the point in his discussion of “outpourings of the Holy Spirit”
or as some prefer “baptisms of the Holy Spirit.” He views this as the most crucial point when
it comes to revival.

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“This is obviously the crucial point with regard to the whole question of revival, because I
take it that by definition what a revival means is an outpouring of the Spirit of God; the Spirit
of God coming in power upon a person or a number of persons at the same time.”9
Evangelist Duncan Campbell writing about the 1949 revival in the Scottish Hebrides
distinguishes the revival from the evangelistic campaigns of the day.
“What I mean by revival as witnessed in the Hebrides. I do not mean a time of religious
entertainment, with crowds gathering to enjoy an evening of bright gospel singing; I do not
mean sensational or spectacular advertising – in a God-sent revival you do not need to spend
money on advertising. I do not mean high pressure methods to get men to an inquiry room –
in revival every service is an inquiry room; the road and hill side become sacred spots to
many when the winds of God blow. Revival is a going of God among His people, and an
awareness of God laying hold of the community. Here we see the difference between a
successful campaign and revival; in the former we may see many brought to a saving
knowledge of the truth, and the church or mission experience a time of quickening, but so far
as the town or district is concerned no real change is visible; the world goes on its way and
the dance and picture-shows are still crowded; but in revival the fear of God lays hold upon
the community, moving men and women, who until then had no concern for spiritual things,
to seek after God.”10
Revivalist Geoff Waugh in answering the question, “What is Revival?” shares what he
considers the “best explanation,” quoting Arthur Wallis in his classic book, In the Day of Thy
Power.
“Numerous writings…confirm that revival is divine intervention in the normal course of
spiritual things. It is God revealing Himself to man in awesome holiness and irresistible
power. It is such a manifest working of God that human personalities are overshadowed and
human programs abandoned. It is man retiring into the background because God has taken
the field. It is the Lord…working in extraordinary power on saint and sinner. … Revival must
of necessity make an impact on the community and this is one means by which we may
distinguish it from the more usual operations of the Holy Spirit.” (Wallis l956, 20, 23).11
All the definitions we have reviewed, and there are many more, touch upon the unique and
life transforming qualities of revivals.

Chapter 3
9
Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. Revival. Crossway Books: Westchester, IL, 1987, P.50
10
Campbell, Duncan (2015-12-15). Revival in the Hebrides (Kindle Locations 123-131). Kraus
House. Kindle Edition.
11
Waugh, Geoff (2010-12-06). Flashpoints of Revival (Kindle Locations 241-245). CreateSpace.
Kindle Edition.

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Revival Praying
3.1. The Revival Heart
Psalms 85 is a prayer for God to restore and revive His people. In it, the Psalmist presents the
earnest question before the Lord, “Will You not revive us again, That Your people may
rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6) I wonder how many of us earnestly pray for revival or are we
content with the way things are. Do we ask God to pour out His Spirit in revival? We all say
we believe in God, but do we believe God for revival? Have we committed ourselves to Him
for revival? Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He
shall bring it to pass.” Our God is not lame when it comes to revival. He will bring it on in
response to a specific heart for revival. What does that heart look like?
Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is
Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To
revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
The sovereign God who lives and reigns forever is promising to revive His people. The
“contrite” and “humble” heart is one we find most difficult to attain. The Hebrew, daka’
(daw-kaw), literally refers to dust with the meaning of something crushed or broken whereas
shaphal (shaw-fawl) means low. The biblical image of the repentant putting on sackcloth and
ashes is an excellent visual example; however, what’s going on in the heart is the greatest
indicator of one prepared for personal revival. The same is true for the corporate body of
Christ. Much can be said about humility, but let it suffice here to say that a Christian is to be
“clothed” with it (See 1 Peter 5:5-7 and James 4:5-10). Paul’s admonitions are most
applicable when it comes to the revived:
 Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
 Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
Revival restores the focus upon the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit. Contriteness
and humility of heart are never missing in true revivals. Infact they are conditions for it.
The Welsh Revival of 1904-05 is one of the greatest revivals in history. Young Evangelist
Evan Roberts (1878-1951) was the leading figure of this revival that touched nations and
brought over two million people into the Kingdom of God. Although revival historian Edwin
Orr gives a detailed and remarkable back story of what led up to God choosing young
Roberts as his instrument of revival, it was a cry, “Lord…bend us” in the closing prayer by a
denominational evangelist that propelled him forth to pray in public, crying out completely
overwhelmed, “Lord, bend me!”.
“When a few more had prayed, I felt a living power pervading my bosom. It took my breath
away. I felt ablaze with a desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell of the
Saviour; and had that been possible, I was willing to pay God for doing so.”12

12
Orr, p. 5

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The principal of the academy where Evan Roberts was studying for the ministry reported
later:
“Evan Roberts was like a particle of radium in our midst. Its fire was consuming and felt
abroad as something which took away sleep, cleared the channel of tears and sped the golden
wheels of prayer throughout the area”13
Roberts declared that the Holy Spirit was sending him home for a week to work with the
young people. He taught them to pray, “Send the Holy Spirit to Moriah for Jesus’s sake.”14
The prayer was soon answered as reported in an English language newspaper:

GREAT CROWDS OF PEOPLE

DRAWN TO LOUGHOR
Congregation Stays till 2:30 in the Morning
“A remarkable religious revival is now taking place in Loughor. For some days a young man
named Evan Roberts, a native of Loughor, has been causing great surprise at Moriah Chapel.
The place has been besieged by dense crowds of people unable to obtain admission. Such
excitement has prevailed that the road on which the chapel is situated has been lined with
people from end to end. Roberts, who speaks in Welsh, opens his discourse saying that he
does not know what he is going to say but that when he is in communion with the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Spirit will speak, and he will simply be the medium of His wisdom. The preacher
soon after launches into a fervent and at times impassioned oration. His statements have had
the most stirring effects upon his listeners. Many who have disbelieved Christianity for years
are returning to the fold of their younger days. One night, so great was the enthusiasm
invoked by the young revivalist that, after his sermon which lasted two hours, the vast
congregation remained praying and singing until two-thirty in the morning. Shopkeepers are
closing early in order to get a place in the chapel, and tin and steel workers throng the place
in working clothes.”15
It was impossible to count the numbers who confessed Christ except to say that prayer
meetings continued daily in the homes to intercede for the salvation of friends and people in
general. This is what revival praying is all about, but there is an extraordinary quality that is
missing in many hearts. Martyn Lloyd-Jones captures the heart of revival praying in his
description of true prayer:
“There is praying and praying. And true prayer is only possible when men and women have a
God consciousness, when they know what it is to realise the presence of the holy God, when
they begin to have a zeal for his holy name and for his cause, and a compassion for souls, and
a feeling of the pressure off the burden of their condition on their spirits. It is then, and then
only, that we truly pray.”16
This kind of praying cannot be organized or “whipped” up. Revival cannot be planned or
organized or created by man, but it can be prayed and hoped for with trust in God and God
13
Ibid, p. 6
14
Ibid, p. 8
15
Ibid, p. 10
16
Lloyd-Jones, p. 90

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alone. Revival can be promoted in this way. The Spirit is calling us to a much deeper praying;
one that is zealous for God and equally zealous for His cause. This deeper praying requires a
shift in heart and attitude like we see in the Psalmist:
Psalm 35:11-14 Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know. They reward
me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing
was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.
I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who
mourns for his mother.
Notice the shift from asking God to “put to shame”, “dishonour”, and bring “confusion”
(35:4), and “let the angel of the Lord pursue them” (35:6) to praying with deep “sorrow”
for their souls. This is much deeper than the normal. Like Leonard Ravenhill says, “The
church has many praying men, but few men of prayer.”17 The author admires his definition of
intercession as “the outpouring of the soul.”18 The prophet Isaiah confirms this as a divine
characteristic of Jesus, the Messiah.
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the
spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered
with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the
transgressors.
Ravenhill rightly concludes that “the intercessor lives very close to the heart of God.” 19
“The intercessor’s intimacy with God means that when God is hurting, he is hurting. Because
he is filled with the Spirit, what grieves the Holy Spirit will grieve his spirit. The intercessor
has pains to which other believers are strangers.”20
Every church needs at least one or more believers with this kind of heart prepared for true
intercession. He promises to prepare their hearts and to hear their cry.
Psalm 10:17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear.
3.2. Simultaneous Audible Prayer
A frequent occurrence in the revivals chronicled in history is the practice of “simultaneous
audible prayer.” This was a key feature of the Welsh Revival as evidenced in a little chapel
that was packed out with some six hundred people.
“There were two young mockers in the audience, and Evan Roberts became aware of their
presence, calling them both to yield to Divine influence. They both refused, hence a hurricane
of audible prayer tore through the place, an agony of entreaty.”21
Prayer meetings multiplied in every place when news of the Welsh Revival reached other
nations. There was mobilization for prayer in England, Scandinavia, Germany, North and
South America, India, South Africa and beyond. For example, the Southern Baptist’s of
17
Ravenhill, p. 101
18
Ibid, p. 107
19
Ibid, p. 109
20
Ibid, p. 115
21
Ibid, p. 16

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North America were so moved that they declared far and wide “Let us cease talking about
revivalism, and get on our knees and pray for revival.”22 Christians in Scandinavia were also
ignited to pray. In fact, they had already begun a prayer movement in 1902 as “hundreds of
thousands of cards were distributed, soliciting daily prayer: ‘Lord, send a revival and start
with me.”23 In Germany, during a conference for the Deepening of Spiritual Life the director
indicated:
“At last we came to prayer. One prayed and another. Suddenly, the Spirit fell upon us and
numbers were praying at once. There was no disorder. It was all harmonious, like the advance
of a wave. Prayer merged into praise, into song… I have never been in a meeting like it. If it
was like Wales, it was because the same Spirit was present.”24
The Welsh Revival was known as a prayer movement and this seemed to be the case for the
revivals in other places. Many cities of North America were affected from the East to the
West coast. For example, the revival reported outside St. Louis indicated:
“Everything reported as ‘peculiar’ in the Wales revival is found in the Lead Belt. Great
throngs attend the services, and conversions take place at almost every meeting. I never heard
such amazing prayer or such expression of conviction of sin.”25
Both South Africa and Latin America also indicated the role of spontaneous audible praying.
The Young People’s Society in South Africa reported on their revival meetings.
“It is surprising to see how God’s Spirit takes control of the gathering without human
pressure being used. It is a usual occurrence for several people to pray simultaneously, yet
always in good order and earnestness…arising from a concern for the unconverted.”26
The reports from India also revealed an immediate spiritual connection with the revival in
Wales. Welsh missionaries served in the hills of Assam, Northeast India. The church began
weekly prayer meetings to seek the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their region and all the
world. In 1904 the meetings became more intense with an urgent hunger. A Bible lesson on
the baptism with the Holy Spirit on the first Sunday in March led to what was described as
“an unusual manifestation of feeling filled the congregation with prayer and weeping and
praise.” In addition at a presbytery meeting there was a break with the usual way of doing
things.
“When the chairman invited one or two by name to lead in prayer, others also stood up to
lead the congregation in intercession. It became impossible to close the usual service the
following Sunday, simultaneous prayer praise and weeping, and even fainting, affection the
congregation. These manifestations accompanied the extension of the awakening into other
parts, and continued for eight months or so.”27
It’s important to take notice that even the Anglicans and others of liturgical traditions had to
admit the power of the revivals around the world. Orr reports regarding a 1905 revival in
South India:
22
Ibid, p. 68
23
Ibid, p. 50
24
Ibid, p. 58
25
Ibid, p. 78
26
Ibid, p. 119
27
Ibid, pp. 132-133

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The 1905 Awakening in Kerala was marked by simultaneous audible prayer, which was alien
to both Anglican and Mar Thoma liturgical traditions. Some Anglican missionaries criticized
the informality of the movement, but they readily admitted its power and the sincerity of its
prophets. Even at Maramon Convention, seventeen thousand people broke into simultaneous
audible prayer.”28
Is simultaneous audible prayer biblical? Is God calling His church to engage in such a
manner of praying? Our brief examination of revivals indicates that it’s a very common
occurrence in most if not all the recorded revivals. One of the key biblical examples is found
in Acts 4 where the believers lift up their voices audibly in one accord.
Acts 4:24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said:
“Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, And it
appears they were praying for revival. God did not disappoint them.
Acts 4:29 “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness
they may speak Your word, 30 “by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and
wonders may be done through the name of Your Holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had
prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
This was clearly a repeated outpouring of the Holy Spirit with high impact. Sounds like a
revival, looks like a revival, and we must, therefore, conclude it’s a revival. Isn’t it frustrating
that the very thing so many leaders and churches in developed nations are resistant to, in this
case the practice of simultaneous audible prayer, is that which God yearns for them to engage
in. God does come to our aid. He sets “watchmen” on the wall.
3.3 Watchmen on the Wall
All revivals are marked by extraordinary prayer. In fact, prayer is one of its most notable
principles. As we discussed earlier the sudden, unexpected emergence of simultaneous
audible prayer is apparent in every historical revival. Pentecost teaches us that the Holy Spirit
falls upon a person or a praying group. They are suddenly overwhelmed by the awesome
presence and power of God. “All revivals are born and flourish among praying people.”29
It’s an indisputable fact from the day of Pentecost on that the repeated outpourings occurred
in the midst of a significant and intense prayer movement. This was clearly the case in the
Early Church.
 Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
 Acts 4:24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord
and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is
in them,
 Acts 6:4-7 “…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry
of the word.” And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a
man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon,
Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles;

28
Ibid, p. 147
29
Waugh, (Kindle Location 295)

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and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread,
and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of
the priests were obedient to the faith.
 Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had
come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He
had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
 Acts 9:10-17 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to
him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the
Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house
of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. “And in a vision he
has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he
might receive his sight.” Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many
about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. "And here
he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." But the
Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before
Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. “For I will show him how many things he
must suffer for My name’s sake.” And Ananias went his way and entered the house;
and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to
you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be
filled with the Holy Spirit.”
 Acts 10:1-4 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of
what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all
his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in
and saying to him, "Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said,
“What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up
for a memorial before God.
 Acts 10:9-16 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city,
Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very
hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw
heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending
to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the
earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him,
“Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten
anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time,
“What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times.
And the object was taken up into heaven again.
 Acts 12:5-8, 12 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered
to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that
night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the
guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord
stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and
raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the
angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said

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to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” … So, when he had considered this, he
came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where
many were gathered together praying.
 Acts 13:1-3 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and
teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who
had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the
Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands
on them, they sent them away.
The above litany of praying individuals and larger groups of praying people in the Early
Church seemingly prepared the way for God in His sovereignty to suddenly visit in great
power. We can certainly conclude with others that where there is no prayer, there is no
revival and where there is prayer, a revival follows. Leonard Ravenhill says the church today
needs a school of prayer.
“There is nothing we need more than a school of prayer. Who dares teach it? Those who have
discovered many of the secrets of prayer are those who, like their Lord, have had a personal
Gethsemane, those who have travailed in the birth pangs for revival. These are the hidden
ones. They never strut. They boast not of the hours they spend in prayer. They wrestle against
principalities and powers, and their souls bear the scars of spiritual conflict.”30
Where are these hidden ones today? God knows where they’re at. He will set them as
“watchmen” on the wall who will intercede with blood, sweat, and tears for the souls of men
and revival. He did it in the revivals of old and He will do it again for His glory and the
conversion of the lost. Let’s briefly review the prophetic foundation for these “watchmen.”
Isaiah 52:6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that
day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the
feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good
things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Your watchmen
shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye
to eye When the LORD brings back Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste
places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the
earth shall see The salvation of our God.
This verse appears in the messianic context of revival and redemption. The chapter begins
with the clarion call for Zion to “Awake, awake!” (52:1; Note: the church is compared to
Zion in Hebrews 12:22-23). It means to rouse yourself from slumber and dress yourself with
the strength of the Lord. The Hebrew word for watchmen is tsaphah (tsaw-faw’). It refers to
those who keep watch, observe, and look about. Praying people see revival before it comes
by the Spirit. No wonder they sing with joy in unison when it arrives. The amazing thing is
that God has strategically appointed them to pray and be watchful.
Isaiah 62:6-7 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their
peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him
no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
30
Ravenhill, p. 85

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What is their purpose? Is it not to pray for a divine visitation? Are they not to pray for the
Lord’s intervention and restoration of the city? Of course this is their assignment. They’re
praying for revival! And they’re praying night and day. The prophet Jeremiah points out that
they also warn the people of the coming revival and to get ready.
Jeremiah 6:17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
With this important role of those God has chosen to pray in this way for revival, there is a
strong warning to those leaders who are blind to the absolute necessity for revival.
Isaiah 56:10 His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They
cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never
have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own
way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.
The intercessory cry of the watchmen is strong and must be heard. Ravenhill provides an
excellent and clear example of the kind of message God lays upon their hearts in prayer.
“We need revival – God’s way. Revival – Spirit-born, heaven-directed, earth-shaking, and
hell-robbing – is not important to the church and to America. It is IMPERATIVE! We will be
granted it as an act of divine mercy, or else God’s judgment will soon fall on us. He will not
wink at the sins in our churches and in our nation much longer.”31
The day is upon us and has been for some time where those who are praying will call us with
a prophetic proclamation signalling the church to the coming revival. What will be our
response?
Jeremiah 31:6-9 For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount
Ephraim, `Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.’ “For thus says the
LORD: “Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim,
give praise, and say, `O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I will
bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them
the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A
great throng shall return there. They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will
lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they
shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.
Revival historians sometimes leave us with the impression that a particular revival was
started by a certain evangelist or minister. Although it’s common to have one or more
evangelists or ministers as central figures in revivals, it’s the praying people who ignite what
is to come. There’s much evidence in the revivals of history that God continues to set his
“watchmen” on the walls. Let’s look at some examples. First the 1949 revival in the Scottish
Hebrides actually began with two elderly sisters. Peggy and Christine Smith. Evangelist
Duncan Campbell chronicled how it all started in a message during his 1968 visit to the
United States:
“This is how it began. Two old women, one of them 84 years of age and the other 82-one of
the stone blind, were greatly burdened because of the appalling state of their own parish. It

31
Ibid, p. 59

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was true that not a single young person attended public worship. Not a single young man or
young woman went to the church. They spent their day perhaps reading or walking but the
church was left out of the picture. And those two women were greatly concerned and they
made it a special matter of prayer. And this is the verse that gripped them: “I will pour water
on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.” “That is the promise,” they said. “We
believe that God is a covenant-keeping God who must be true to his covenant engagements.
He has made a promise and he must fulfill the promise.”32
Campbell believed the prayers of those two women influenced the Presbytery to extend a call
for prayer to all their faithful members. Others prayed, but the sisters engaged in
extraordinary revival praying that led to a vision from God that prepared the way for the
coming revival.
“They were so burdened that both of them decided to spend so much time in prayer twice a
week. On Tuesday they got on their knees at 10 o'clock in the evening and remained on their
knees until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning – two old women in a very humble cottage. One
night, one of the sisters had a vision. Now remember that, in revival, God works in wonderful
ways. A vision came to one of them, and in the vision she saw the church of her fathers
crowded with young people, packed to the doors, and a strange minister standing in the
pulpit. And she was so impressed by the vision that she sent for the parish minister. And of
course, knowing the two sisters, knowing that they were two women who knew God in a
wonderful way, he responded to their invitation and called at the cottage.”33
They urgently informed the minister that he had to do something and added a very timely
suggestion:
“I would suggest that you call your office bearers together and that you spend with us at least
two nights in prayer in the week. Tuesday and Friday if you gather your elders together, you
can meet in a barn, and as you pray there, we will pray here.”34
This they did for at least six weeks pleading God’s promise to “pour water on him that is
thirsty, floods upon the dry ground.” (Isaiah 44:3). This is what happened one night in the
barn.
“One young man, a deacon in the church, got up and read Psalm 24. “Who shall ascend the
hill of God? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart;
who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity or sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing
(not a blessing, but the blessing) of the Lord.” And then that young man closed his Bible.
And looking down at the minister and the other office bearers, he said this – maybe crude
words, but perhaps not so crude in our Gaelic language – he said, “It seems to me to be so
much humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting, if we
ourselves are not rightly related to God.” And then he lifted his two hands – and I’m telling
you just as the minister told me it happened – he lifted his two hands and prayed, "God, are
my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” But he got no further. That young man fell to his knees
and then fell into a trance. Now don't ask me to explain this because I can’t. He fell into a

32
Campbell, Duncan. Revival in the Hebrides (Kindle Locations 585-592). Kraus House. Kindle
Edition.
33
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 592)
34
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 606)

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trance and is now lying on the floor of the barn. And in the words of the minister, at that
moment, he and his other office bearers were gripped by the conviction that a God-sent
revival must ever be related to holiness, must ever be related to Godliness. Are my hands
clean? Is my heart pure? The man that God will trust with revival – that is the condition.
When that happened in the barn, the power of God swept into the parish. And an awareness
of God gripped the community such as hadn't been known for over 100 years. An awareness
of God – that’s revival, that’s revival. And on the following day, the looms were silent, little
work was done on the farms as men and women gave themselves to thinking on eternal things
gripped by eternal realities.”35
The 20th century teaching that “history belongs to the intercessors” (watchmen) rings true in
the Hebrides Revival of 1949.
Another wonderful example is one of the revivals that took place in Dohnavur about 30 miles
from the tip of South India. The renowned missionary, Amy Carmichael, began praying with
her helpers at the children’s mission for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all India since
hearing of the Welsh Revival. Revival Historian Edwin Orr quotes Carmichael’s description
of what happened on that special day in 1905 at the close of the morning service.
“On October 22nd, to quote one of the little girls, Jesus came to Dohnavur. He was there
before, but on that day He came in so vivid a fashion that we cannot wonder that it struck the
child as a new Coming. It was so startling and so aweful – I can use no other word – that
details escaped me. Soon the whole upper half of the church was on its face on the floor,
crying to God, each boy and girl, man and woman, oblivious of all others. The sound was like
the sound of waves or strong wind in the trees. For the next fortnight, life was apportioned for
us much as it was for the apostles when they gave themselves continually to prayer and to the
ministry of the Word. Everything else had to stand aside. At first the movement was almost
entirely among convert boys, schoolboys, our own children and workers, and some younger
members of the congregation. But as the older ones were caught in the current, more or less,
at first it was impossible to gauge its real depths.”36
As you can see many of the younger children cried bitterly and prayed for forgiveness. What
followed left no doubt of the extent of the revival with almost everyone at the mission
converted and revived. Many conversions were also reported in the village and even the
Anglican parishes were spiritually awakened.
All of the historical revivals began with prayer triggered by individual watchmen or small
groups of praying people that soon grew into prayer movements of thousands creating a
revival spirit that could not be curtailed. Orr points out this clear pattern in the China revival.
“The twentieth century Awakening in China, it seems, occurred in three phases: there was a
prayer movement between 1900 and 1905; there was a widespread awakening in 1906 and
1907; and there was extraordinary revival throughout 1908 and 1909, continuing until the
Revolution in 1911.”37
The Great Awakenings in North America also revealed the same pattern. For example, the
most famous message, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, delivered in 1741 at Enfield by
35
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 606-620)
36
Orr, pp. 144-145
37
Ibid, p. 158

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Jonathan Edwards in the First Great Awakening was backed up by a praying people. Henry
Fish (1820-1877) in his classic work, Handbook of Revivals, unveiled the vital connection
between prayer and this powerful sermon.
“Upon a careful analysis it is not difficult to point out several elements of the highest
effectiveness. But back of this there was a mighty agency, discoverable in the fact that some
Christians in the vicinity had become alarmed lest while God was blessing other places, he
should in anger pass them by; and so they met on the evening preceding the preaching of that
sermon, and spent the whole night in agonising prayer. And Edwards himself reveals the
same source of power in those days, when he says, “The spirit of those that have been in
distress for the souls of others, so far as I can discern, seems not to be different from that of
the apostle who travailed for souls, and was ready to wish himself accursed from Christ for
them: and that of the Psalmist in saying, ‘Horror hath taken hold upon me, because of the
wicked that forsake thy law.’”38
Additionally, what took place in New York City in 1831 and beyond during the Second Great
Awakening also confirms this pattern. Henry Fish again reports how “thousands of
Christians here are, I think praying as they never prayed before.”39 His description of how
the notorious Chatham Street Theatre was transformed into a prayer and revival center is
remarkable, yet typical in all revivals.
“The first prayer-meeting in the theatre was attended by 800 persons. On the 6th of May the
house was dedicated to the service of God. Mr. Finney preached from the text, “Who is on
the Lord’s side?” For seventy successive nights he preached there to immense audiences. The
bar-room was changed into a prayer-room, and the first man who knelt there poured forth
these words, “O Lord, forgive my sin’s: the last time I was here thou knowest I was a wicked
actor on this stage; O Lord, have mercy on me!” For three years this building was used for
revival meetings. That revival brought into the churches of New York 2,000 souls, many of
whom became prominent in great benevolent movements.”40
Notice again how the revival began with a praying people. Although Charles Finney is
considered the key figure in the Second Great Awakening and revered by many as the “father
of American revivalism,” the awakening once again began in the birth pangs of revival
praying. There were “watchmen” on the wall. Revivals are born in prayer. This is an
indisputable fact concluded by all revival historians.
It’s appropriate to close this chapter of our revival study by quoting an 1870’s article from the
South Australian Bible Christian Magazine that is referenced in The Revival Study Bible,
published in 2010.
“It was usually just one single Christian filled with the Holy Spirit who touched off a revival.
The Christian needed to pray, believe, confess until he felt his heart all subdued and melted
by the Holy Spirit; and until his love for Christ was glowing, fervid and burning; and until,
like Jesus, he was in an agony of prayer over the lost.”41

38
Fish, Henry C. Handbook of Revivals (Kindle Locations 2884-2894). Counted Faithful. Kindle
Edition.
39
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 558)
40
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 572-573)
41
The Revival Study Bible. Armour Publishing, 2010, p. 1477

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Revival praying is not a mere matter of discipline or even asking God for it. The King of
Glory has to descend upon a person or persons in such a way that the deepest conviction and
agony is evidenced in their praying. One of the best descriptions of this kind of praying is by
an eyewitness of the young preacher, Evan Roberts:
“His soul seemed to be saturated through and through with the spirit of prayer. I am a living
witness of this incident that this prayer was answered in a terrifying way. Falling on the floor
in the pulpit, he moaned like one mortally wounded, while his tears flowed incessantly, his
fine physical frame shook under the crushing soul-anguish. No one was allowed to touch him.
Those seated close to him frustrated any attempt at assistance which many willing hands
would have gladly rendered. The majority of us were petrified with fear in the presence of
such uncontrollable grief. What did it mean? What good could possibly accrue from such
manifestations in overcrowded meetings? Thoughts of this nature agitated our minds. No one
doubted the transparent sincerity of the man, however mysterious the happenings. When
Evan Roberts stood before the congregation again, his face seemed transfigured. It was patent
to all that he had passed through an experience that was extremely costly. No one who
witnessed that scene would vote for a repetition. One wonders whether such hallowed
occurrences should be chronicled.”42
Psalm 42:7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and
billows have gone over me.

Chapter 4
Revival Characteristics
4.1. Preliminary Revival Indictors
What is the environment like before revivals come? What’s the condition of the church, the
community, the nation? Even a brief examination of the atmosphere surrounding the coming
of historical revivals reveals that revivals come when things are not going well. In this
section, the researcher will briefly present three preliminary indicators that are consistently
present before a revival comes on the scene.
1. A spiritual and moral decline in church and society
2. A burden by one or more believers over the state of the church and community
3. A thirst for, an urgency, and an expectation of revival
In a series of lectures at Church on the Way in 1981, Dr. Edwin Orr, whom Billy Graham
considered one of the greatest authorities on historical revivals in the Protestant world,
painted the dismal picture of the religious and moral climate of the revivals. Typical was the
awakening of 1727 onward. He says, “The glory had departed, conversions were rare,
42
Ravenhill, p. 72

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profanity and drunkenness abounded.”43 He quotes Lord Baron Brooke, a staunch unbeliever
of the day telling the clergy in London, “The greatest miracle of Christianity was that the
preaching of it was committed to such an ungodly bunch as they were.”44 This was the
condition of things as Wesley and Whitefield came on the scene. In 1738 the Great
Awakening in the colonies with Jonathan Edwards turned the people back to God as well as
in England. He declared, “Tell our children and children’s children what God’s done.
Revival is like Judgement Day!”45 Orr describes the conditions leading up to the revolutionary
war.
“What most people don’t know is that in the wake of the revolutionary war there was a moral
slump unparalleled. Drunkenness was epidemic. Out of a population of five million, 300,000
were confirmed drunkards. They were burying 15,000 of them a year…Profanity was the
most shocking kind. Immorality was rampant. Harvard had not one believer at the time
according to the poll that was taken and Princeton had only two believers.”46
Conditions in the churches caused grave concern. Orr shared with his audience that the
Congregationalists were the largest church body at the time and that the Methodists were
losing 4,000 members a year. He said, “The churches were in deadly fear of dying off,” and
quoted the great Christian historian, Kenneth Scott Laurette, “It seemed like Christianity was
about to be ushered out of the affairs of men.”47
As it was shown in the previous chapter, it was a prayer movement that began to change
things. A burden comes upon one or more believers in a place and there is a spirit of
agonizing prayer for a revival. This is the case with all revivals; however, let it be known that
revivals are clearly rescue operations to awaken the church and keep mankind from perishing.
Charles Finney (1792-1875), considered the father of modern revivalism, says it best about
these preliminary indicators of revivals:
It presupposes that the Church is sunk down in a backslidden state, and a revival consists in
the return of the Church from her backslidings, and in the conversion of sinners.48
Finney is used as an example here due to some forty years of revival experience where he
literally promoted and ministered in revival after revival during the Second Great
Awakening. In his second lecture entitled, When a Revival is to be Expected, he provides a
comprehensive answer to the question of when, what he calls a “revival of religion,” is
needed.
“When there is a want of brotherly love and Christian confidence among professors of
religion, then a revival is needed. Then there is a loud call for God to revive His work. When
Christians have sunk down into a low and backslidden state, they neither have, nor can have,

43
The comprehensive series was presented at the Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California in 1981.
The quotes taken from lecture 1, The Awakening of 1727 Onward and lecture 2, The Awakening of
1792 Onward. [Link] A_answer_8
44
Ibid Lecture 1
45
Ibid Lecture 1
46
Ibid Lecture 2
47
Ibid Lecture 2
48
Finney, Charles. The Works of Charles Finney, Vol 1 (15-in-1) Power From on High, Lectures on
Revivals of Religion, Autobiography of Charles Finney, Revival Fire, Holiness of Christians,
Systematic Theology (Kindle Locations 4143-4144). Kindle Edition

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the same love and confidence toward each other, as when they are all alive, and active, and
living holy lives.”49
It will be helpful here to provide a redacted list of Finney’s reasons for revival:50
1. When there are dissensions, and jealousies, and evil speakings among professors of
religion, then there is a great need of a revival.
2. When there is a worldly spirit in the Church.
3. When the Church finds its members falling into gross and scandalous sins, then it is
time to awake and cry to God for a revival of religion.
4. When the wicked triumph over the Churches, and revile them, it is time to seek for a
revival of religion.
5. When there is a spirit of controversy in the Church or in the land, a revival is needful.
6. When sinners are careless and stupid, it is time Christians should bestir themselves.
Now you can understand why there is so much crying out under the conviction of sin when
revivals come. Orr makes a profound statement when he says, “The Church should be in the
world just as the ship should be in the ocean, but the ocean should not be in the ship and the
world should not be in the church.”51 This is why it’s important to accurately diagnose the
condition of the church and the society in which we live. Finney’s warning is as relevant
today as it was in the 19th century.
“A revival of religion is the only possible thing that can wipe away the reproach which covers
the Church, and restore religion to the place it ought to have in the estimation of the public.
Without a revival, this reproach will cover the Church more and more, until it is
overwhelmed with universal contempt. You may do anything else you please, and you may
change the aspects of society in some respects, but you will do no real good; you only make it
worse without a revival of religion. You may go and build a splendid new house of worship,
and line your seats with damask, put up a costly pulpit, and get a magnificent organ, and
everything of that kind, to make a show and dash, and in that way you may procure a sort of
respect for religion among the wicked, but it does no good in reality. It rather does hurt. It
misleads them as to the real nature of religion; and so far from converting them, it carries
them farther away from salvation. Look wherever they have surrounded the altar of
Christianity with splendour, and you will find that the impression produced is contrary to the
true nature of religion. There must be a waking up of energy on the part of Christians, and an
outpouring of God's Spirit, or the world will laugh at the Church.”52
Perhaps the most important condition for revival is that of thirst. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
accurately sees this as “preliminary” to revival.
“The inevitable and constant preliminary to revival has always been a thirst for God, a thirst,
a living thirst for a knowledge of the living god, and a longing and a burning desire to see
him acting, manifesting himself and his power, rising, and scattering his enemies…The thirst
49
Ibid, (Kindle Location 4269)
50
Ibid, (Kindle Location 4279-4289)
51
Orr, Lecture 1
52
Finney, (Kindle Locations 4294-4298)

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for God, and the longing for the exhibition of his glory are the essential preliminaries to
revival.”53
This thirst is typically evident in only a very small number and more often initially with only
one or two believers in a place. This was evident in the vast majority of the historical revivals
examined. It’s like the Psalmist described as a thirsty deer with its tongue hanging out
longing for the spring of water.
 Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
 Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
It’s not enough to pray, read my Bible, and attend church services. The prophetic call to the
thirsty is to drink.
 Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry
ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your
offspring;
 Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no
money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and
without price.
 John 7:37-39 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out,
saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as
the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He
spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the
Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
 Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears
say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water
of life freely.
The living water Jesus refers to is a reviving drink that awakens and quickens. Much of the
church is lifeless and dead without much energy to do anything meaningful to promote
revival. However, living water has vital power in itself and exerts the same upon those who
drink of it. No wonder Paul commands believers to be continually filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18-20 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with
the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Interestingly, some of the lexicons for the Greek word, dipsao (dip-sah’-o), point out that the
word means “to suffer” or “suffer from thirst.” One says it refers to those “who painfully
feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed,
supported, strengthened.” Another describes it as “the state resulting from not having drunk
anything for a period of time.” So this confirms the intense level of thirst and the need for a
much deeper longing to drink; one that cries out for revival. Again and again what is being
referred to is the thirsty soul drinking deeply of the Spirit. The prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Jesus
Himself confirm this. Notice also there is an overflowing when we drink this living water of
53
Lloyd-Jones, pp. 90-91

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the Spirit of life. In other words, there is no revival without the Holy Spirit and there is no
revival without the thirsty drinking deeply of the living water. In every revival, the Holy
Spirit is poured upon the thirsty. This is a preliminary condition. It’s the urgent and expectant
cry of the thirsty for revival. And it’s a deep and anguishing cry.
Psalm 42:7-8 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and
billows have gone over me. The LORD will command His loving kindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me. (A prayer to the God of my life)
4.2. Characteristics during a Revival
Some of the revival characteristics that take place once a revival breaks out are as follows:
1. Combination of divine providence and human agency
2. Strong and united prayer movement
3. Powerful and engaging preaching of God’s word
4. Profound conviction of sin
5. Extreme focus upon the conversion of backsliders and sinners
6. Spiritual awakening of the church and community
7. Notable outpouring of the Holy Spirit
The researcher noticed during the historic revivals that there was a clear indication that God
used key people before and during each. There was also quite a bit of confusion in the church
regarding the sovereignty of God and the role of man in revivals. Much of the confusion
comes from orthodox or traditional teachings on the subject; the roots of which appear to lie
in the Calvinist and Armenian theological debate. Winkie Pratney simplifies what has
become a very confusing topic for most of us.
Calvinists: Stress God’s actions alone in salvation as predestination and election.
Armenians: Stress human responsibility to respond or reject God’s call.54
In every revival there is a combination of divine providence as well as human instrumentation
led by the Holy Spirit. Most, if not all, the leading revivalists in history had to deal with the
extremes of one or the other of these views. For example Charles Finney’s experience during
the revival at Wilmington, Delaware in 1826 was typical of what he encountered on a regular
basis in the churches:
“I soon found that his teaching had placed the church in a position that rendered it impossible
to promote a revival among them, till their views could be corrected. They seemed to be
afraid to make any effort, lest they should take the work out of the hands of God. They had
the oldest of the old-school views of doctrine; and consequently their theory was that God
would convert sinners in His own time; and that therefore to urge them to immediate
repentance, and in short to attempt to promote a revival, was to attempt to make men
Christians by human agency, and human strength, and thus to dishonor God by taking the
work out of His hands. I observed also, that in their prayers there was no urgency for an

54
Pratney, p.59

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immediate outpouring of the Spirit, and that this was all in accordance with the views in
which they had been educated.”55
Finney was right to confront and correct the errors of these teachings. He openly declared,
“Revivals have been greatly hindered by mistaken notions concerning the Sovereignty of
God.”56 It was evident those under the strict and extreme Calvinist teachings on divine
providence and election were left hopeless to respond to God’s immediate call of repentance
in revival. The pastors merely told those seeking God to pray for a new heart and read their
Bibles. As a result no conversions took place in the churches leading up to the revivals. In a
later revival at Reading, Pennsylvania, Finney describes the seriousness of the situation.
“The foundation of the error of which I speak, is the dogma that human nature is sinful in
itself; and that, therefore, sinners are entirely unable to become Christians. It is admitted,
either expressly or virtually, that sinners may want to be Christians, and that they really do
want to be Christians, and often try to be Christians, and yet somehow fail…They must
therefore, set him self-righteously to pray for a new heart. They would sometimes tell him to
do his duty, to press forward in duty, to read his Bible, to use the means of grace; in short,
they would tell him to do anything and everything, but the very thing which God commands
him to do. God commands him to repent now, to believe now, to make to him a new heart
now. But they were afraid to urge God's claims in this form, because they were continually
telling the sinner that he had no ability whatever to do these things.”57
In fact, this was the view of the vast majority of the clergy and the people were left helpless
as one biographer explained:
“Everybody was told that they were absolutely helpless, and could do nothing to secure their
own repentance or conversion; and they generally believed it. With one accord they were idly
waiting, in imaginary helplessness, for a sovereign God to enable them to repent and believe;
and thus whole generations were sweeping into hell. What appalling results can flow from a
false theology!”58
The controversial effects of these extremes remain with us today. Much of the church stands
opposed to “decision theology” in lieu of God’s providence. Others seemingly exploit
people’s sentiments by leading them to make a decision for Christ much like a car salesmen
with little emphasis upon the influence of a Holy and Sovereign God who demands holiness
and godliness of heart and life from His followers. Finney explains this combination of divine
providence and human agency in this way:
“Ordinarily, there are employed in the work of conversion three agents and one instrument.
The agents are God; some person who brings the truth to bear on the mind; and the sinner
himself. The instrument is the truth. There are always two agents, God and the sinner,
employed and active in every case of genuine conversion. The agency of God is twofold: by
His Providence and by His Spirit.”59

55
Finney, (Kindle Locations 15895-15900)
56
Ibid, (Kindle Location 4227)
57
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 16197-16202)
58
Ibid, (Kindle Location 175)
59
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 4166-4168)

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The Bible fully confirms both the Sovereignty of God and His use of human agency in
revival as it applies to the conversion of sinners.
Divine Providence Human Agency Combination

When His disciples heard it, they There were present at that But as many as received Him, to
were greatly astonished, saying, season some who told Him them He gave the right to become
“Who then can be saved?” But about the Galileans whose blood children of God, to those who
Jesus looked at them and said to Pilate had mingled with their believe in His name: who were
them, “With men this is sacrifices. And Jesus answered born, not of blood, nor of the will
impossible, but with God all and said to them, “Do you of the flesh, nor of the will of
things are possible.” (Matt. 19:25- suppose that these Galileans man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
26) were worse sinners than all
other Galileans, because they Jesus answered and said to her,
“No one can come to Me unless suffered such things? “I tell you, “Whoever drinks of this water
the Father who sent Me draws no; but unless you repent you will thirst again, “but whoever
him; and I will raise him up at the will all likewise perish. (Luke drinks of the water that I shall
last day. (John 6:44) 13:1-3) give him will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him will
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, But we have this treasure in become in him a fountain of water
the truth, and the life. No one earthen vessels, that the springing up into everlasting life.”
comes to the Father except excellence of the power may be (John 4:13-14)
through Me. (Joh 14:6) of God and not of us. (2Cor 4:7)

Moreover whom He predestined, But what does it say? “The word For by grace you have been saved
these He also called; whom He is near you, in your mouth and through faith, and that not of
called, these He also justified; and in your heart " (that is, the word yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9
whom He justified, these He also of faith which we preach): that not of works, lest anyone should
glorified. (Rom. 8:30) if you confess with your mouth boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)
the Lord Jesus and believe in
Therefore He has mercy on whom your heart that God has raised And the Spirit and the bride say,
He wills, and whom He wills He Him from the dead, you will be “Come!” And let him who hears
hardens. (Rom 9:18) saved. For with the heart one say, “Come!” And let him who
believes unto righteousness, and thirsts come. Whoever desires, let
with the mouth confession is him take the water of life freely.
made unto salvation. (Rom (Rev 22:17)
10:8-10)

“Truly, these times of ignorance

God overlooked, but now
commands all men everywhere
to repent, (Acts 17:30)
Source: Dr. Michael D. Gross: 5-Fold Global Ministries
Another prominent characteristic of revivals is the united prayer movement that arises and
spreads quickly throughout a region. Although one or a small number of praying individuals
are used by God at the start, the number rapidly multiples during a revival. Suddenly, like
overnight, there’s a prayer movement. Everyone seems to be praying. And there are two
things that make their prayers so effective. One is the unity of purpose or motive and the
second is the spirit of prayer.

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What constitutes a spirit of prayer? Is it many prayers and warm words? No. Prayer is the
state of the heart. The spirit of prayer is a state of continual desire and anxiety of mind for the
salvation of sinners. It is something that weighs them down.60
Some believers pray for revival without much thought to those who are perishing. Instead,
their motives are confused with desires to increase church membership, church finances, and
church facilities. This is not the “spirit of prayer” in revivals. In true revivals, the prayer
movement is aligned with God’s desires. The Early Church prayed in “one accord.” The only
way to pray in this way is to know by the Spirit and the Word of God, the desires of the
Father. For starters, He still desires His followers to be filled and empowered by the Holy
Spirit for the purpose of witnessing. And God still desires that none should perish.
 Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
end of the earth.”
 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance.
They also travailed for sinners in the “spirit of prayer” like Paul. This is a very deep
labouring in prayer very similar to the birthing process.
Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I labour in birth again until Christ is formed in
you.
Finney says “This travail of soul is that deep agony which persons feel when they lay hold on
God for such a blessing, and will not let Him go till they receive it.”61 He continues, “When
this feeling exists in a Church, unless the Spirit is grieved away by sin, there will infallibly be
a revival of Christians generally, and it will involve the conversion of sinners to God.”62 In a
prayer movement, the church grasps the condition of the wicked. Despite opposition from the
enemy and those he uses, the prayer movement sustains and spreads the revival. The
opposition arises during revivals, but faithful and united prayers in the prayer movement
overcome in an unstoppable manner. The Spirit of God raises up the prayer movement like a
mighty standard that spreads and sustains the revival in victory over the enemy.
Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from
the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift
up a standard against him.
Finney accurately describes the victory over all opposition in revivals.
“Sometimes the wicked will get up an opposition to religion. And when this drives Christians
to their knees in prayer to God, with strong crying and tears, you may be certain there is
going to be a revival…But sometimes the conduct of the wicked drives Christians to prayer,
breaks them down, and makes them sorrowful and tender-hearted, so that they can weep day
and night, and instead of scolding the wicked they pray earnestly for them. Then you may
expect a revival. Indeed, it is begun already. Sometimes the wicked will get up an opposition
60
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 4361-4363)
61
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 4370-4371)
62
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 4373-4374)

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to religion. And when this drives Christians to their knees in prayer to God, with strong
crying and tears, you may be certain there is going to be a revival…Let hell boil over if it
will, and spew out as many devils as there are stones in the pavement, if it only drives
Christians to God in prayer – it cannot hinder a revival. Let Satan "get up a row," and sound
his horn as loud as he pleases; if Christians will only be humbled and pray, they shall soon
see God's naked arm in a revival of religion. I have known instances where a revival has
broken in upon the ranks of the enemy, almost as suddenly as a clap of thunder, and scattered
them, taken the ringleaders as trophies, and broken up their party in an instant.”63
The important point in this discussion about the prayer movements evidenced both before and
on a grandeur scale during revivals is something that few believers know, or if they do know,
are not actively engaged in. The importance of the prayer movement in revival featuring a
unity in alignment with God’s heart and the spirit of prayer cannot be overemphasized. As
Finney indicated during forty years of nonstop revival experience in the Second Great
Awakening, “You may be sure there had been somebody on the watch-tower, constant in
prayer till the blessing came. Generally, a revival is more or less extensive, as there are more
or less persons who have the spirit of prayer.”64
Revivals also bring a dramatic change in the preaching and teaching of the Word. Matt
Hartley, said at a revival meeting in what has been called the “Awakening in the Mountains.”
He said, “When the King of Glory comes in there is a shift.”65 This is precisely what happens
in the preaching during revivals. This can only be described in the same terms used in the
Gospels and Acts.
 Matthew 7:28-29 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people
were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not
as the scribes.
 Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with
authority.
 Luke 4:36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a
word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they
come out.”
We can conclude from these passages that the authority and power behind the preaching and
teaching of God’s word during revivals is what sets it apart from that which is displayed prior
to a revival. It’s important in revivals to understand that this "shift” is a direct result of the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles experienced a remarkable transformation after
Pentecost in this regard. It is quite interesting that the religious leaders opposing Pentecost
asked them the identical question Jesus was asked, “By what power or by what name have
you done this?” (Acts 4:7). Generally speaking, those opposing revivals have historically
possessed the same issues with the authority and power demonstrated during revivals.
However, Peter’s response to them was not a conventional human response. Rather it was a
Spirit-filled one for the Scripture says, “Then, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to
63
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 4346-4347, 4343-4347, 4352-4356)
64
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 4400-4402)
65
This revival began among high school youth in March 2016 and spread to families throughout the
poverty stricken coal mining region in the mountains of West Virginia. Within 10 weeks over 4000
conversions were reported with numerous healings, deliverances, and those baptized with the Holy
Spirit.

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them…” (Acts 4:8). Of course, the message that followed (See Acts 4:8-12) was with the
authority and power that comes from above through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit prayed
for and experienced during revivals. The opposition actually confirms the distinguishing
revival characteristics we are discussing.
Acts 4:13-16 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they
were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realized that they had been
with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say
nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they
conferred among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a
notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we
cannot deny it.”
The Greek word, parrhesia (par-rhay-see’-ah), in this context refers to a freedom of speech
characterized by an unreserved and courageous utterance from divine enablement. This is an
important aspect in relation to the preaching in revivals. The religious leaders saw it and
wondered at it, realizing that they were ordinary men without formal rabbinic training who
thoroughly knew Jesus. And they had no way of denying this and that a “notable miracle”
had occurred. Interestingly, their recognition makes special note of the miracle being done
“through them” and was “evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem.” Although there was
opposition, there was also a strong public witness which is common in revivals.
Some downplay the role of evangelists in revivals and others are tempted to make them
celebrities; however, their special calling and utilization in God’s plan and purpose during
revivals cannot be denied and should not be diminished. Unnoticed by some revival
historians is the fact that Johnathan Edwards, invited Evangelist George Whitefield to preach
at his church in Northampton in hopes it would be “good to my soul, and the souls of my
people.”66 Editors of Edwards’ sermons give the following assessment:
“Whitefield did indeed come to Northampton in October 1740 and preached there several
times to a packed meetinghouse and weeping audiences who hung on every word. Edwards
reported that “the congregation was extraordinarily melted by every sermon; almost the
whole assembly being in tears for a great part of sermon time.” In his published journals,
Whitefield reported that even Edwards wept openly.”67
Phillip, the Evangelist, preached Christ to the Samaritans.
Acts 8:5-8 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And
the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who
were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great
joy in that city.
The revival described above expanded to many Samaritan villages through the preaching of
Phillip followed by Peter and John who came to minister the Holy Spirit to the converts.

66
Kimnach, Wildon H., Minkema, Kenneth P., Sweeney, Douglas A., eds. The Sermons of Jonathan
Edwards: A Reader. Yale University Press: New Haven 1999, p. xxx
67
Ibid, p. xxx

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Acts 8:14-17, 25 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down,
prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none
of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on
them, and they received the Holy Spirit…So when they had testified and preached the word
of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the
Samaritans.
Two Greek words for preaching are used in the context of the Samaritan revival. One is
kerusso (kay-roos’so). According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, it means to “be a herald; to
officiate as a herald; to proclaim after the manner of a herald; always with a suggestion of
formality, gravity, and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed; to publish,
proclaim openly: something which has been done.” Thayer goes on to say Acts 8:5 is to
“proclaim to persons one whom they are to become acquainted with in order to learn what
they ought to do.” The second word is euaggelizo (yoo-ang-ghel-id’-zo) and means “to
proclaim glad tidings; specifically, to instruct (men) concerning the things that pertain to
Christian salvation: to announce the glad tidings of the Messiah, or of the kingdom of God,
or of eternal salvation offered through Christ.” In revivals this is with a delegated authority
and power that ignites and spreads revival fire in every place.
Charles Finney makes some excellent and very practical points regarding preaching during
revivals. In a series of statements, this veteran evangelist and revivalist presents guidelines
consistent with the characteristics of the preaching common to revivals. The following
selection accents what we have been talking about.
 “All preaching should be doctrinal, and all preaching should be practical. The very
design of doctrine is to regulate practice. Any preaching that has not this tendency is
not the Gospel. A loose, exhortatory style of preaching may affect the passions, and
may produce excitement, but will never sufficiently instruct the people to secure
sound conversions. On the other hand, preaching doctrine in an abstract manner may
fill the head with notions, but will never sanctify the heart or life.”68
 “Preaching should be direct. The Gospel should be preached to men, and not about
men. The minister must address his hearers. He must preach to them about
themselves, and not leave the impression that he is preaching to them about others. He
will never do them any good, further than he succeeds in convincing each individual
that he is the person in question.”69
 “Another very important thing to be regarded in preaching is, that the minister should
hunt after sinners and Christians, wherever they may have entrenched themselves in
inaction. It is not the design of preaching to make men easy and quiet, but to make
them ACT.”70
 “Another important thing to observe is, that a minister should dwell most on those
particular points which are most needed.”71
 “The Gospel should be preached in those proportions, that the whole Gospel may be
brought before the minds of the people, and produce its proper influence. If too much
68
Finney, (Kindle Locations 7126-7129)
69
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7130-7132)
70
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7136-7138)
71
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7148-7149)

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stress is laid on one class of truths, the Christian character will not have its due
proportions. Its symmetry will not be perfect. If that class of truths be almost
exclusively dwelt upon, that requires great exertion of intellect, without being brought
home to the heart and conscience, it will be found that the Church will be
indoctrinated in those views, but will not be awake, and active, and efficient in the
promotion of religion.”72
 “It is of great importance that the sinner should be made to feel his guilt, and not left
to the impression that he is unfortunate. I think this is a very prevalent fault,
particularly in books on the subject. They are calculated to make the sinner think
more of his sorrows than of his sins, and feel that his state is rather unfortunate than
criminal.”73
 “Sinners ought to be made to feel that they have something to do, and that is, to
repent; that it is something which no other being can do for them, neither God nor
man; and something which they can do, and do now. Religion is something to do, not
something to wait for. And they must do it now, or they are in danger of eternal death.
Ministers should never rest satisfied, until they have ANNIHILATED every excuse of
sinners.”74
 Preaching should be parabolical. That is, illustrations should be constantly used,
drawn from incidents, real or supposed. Jesus Christ constantly illustrated His
instructions in this way. He would either advance a principle and then illustrate it by a
parable - that is, a short story of some event, real or imaginary - or else He would
bring out the principle in the parable.75
Of course Finney continues to warn against preaching doctrine that misses the mark. Balance
between doctrine and the practical is crucial especially when it comes to the disagreement
between the extremes of God’s Sovereignty and human agency discussed earlier.
“If Election and Sovereignty are too much preached, there will be Antinomianism in the
Church, and sinners will hide themselves behind the delusion that they can do nothing. If, on
the other hand, doctrines of ability and obligation be too prominent, they will produce
Arminianism, and sinners will be blustering and self-confident… A right view of both classes
of truths, Election and Free-agency, will do no hurt. They are eminently calculated to convert
sinners and strengthen saints. It is a perverted view that chills the heart of the Church, and
closes the eyes of sinners in sleep. If I had time, I would remark on the manner in which I
have sometimes heard the doctrines of Divine Sovereignty, Election, and Ability preached.
They have been exhibited in irreconcilable contradiction, the one against the other. Such
exhibitions are anything but the Gospel, and are calculated to make a sinner feel anything
rather than his responsibility to God.”76
The conversion of sinners is the primary concern of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Early Church
and it is the motive that defines all the characteristics of revivals. Finney and other revivalists
are correct to say, “A minister should aim to convert his congregation.”77 The modern church
72
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7190-7194)
73
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7232-7235)
74
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7250-7254)
75
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7290-7292)
76
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7197-7199, 7215-7219)
77
Ibid, (Kindle Locations 7356-7357)

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confuses this with other motives and, for the most part, has lost its way. In the midst of
ungodliness, backsliding, contented and lukewarm believers, the church must be awakened to
the urgency of the hour. It’s revival or judgment!

4.3. Characteristics of Biblical Revivals

The characteristics of historical revivals thus far examined are remarkably consistent and well
documented by revival historians and the revivalists themselves. But are these characteristics
evident in the Bible? Revival with all its characteristics was the norm as described in the New
Testament. Just read through the book of Acts and you will observe all the revival
characteristics in operation. And what you see is evidence of a continual revival and display
of these features we have been discussing. Just this brief examination of revival brings us to
the same reality as revival author Geoff Waugh, “The pattern in Jesus’ life and ministry and
in the early Church is normative for the Church, but we have fallen far short of it.”78 Revival
was and is the normative pattern for the church! Keep this in mind during our brief review of
Biblical revivals, as well as that final phrase from Waugh’s statement, “but we have fallen far
short of it.” Most importantly, see if we can come to a deeper and more urgent understanding
of what he claims is the “best known Bible verse on revival.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.
An overview of revival in the Early Church as described in Acts reveals a consistent revival
flow. The following list shows how revival spreads with a regional and global impact.
 Acts 1-7 Jerusalem Revival
 Acts 8:1-4 Judean Revival
 Acts 8:5-25 Samaritan Revival
 Acts 9:1-25 Damascus Revival
 Acts 10-11 Gentile Revival
 Acts 13-28 Global Revival
These revivals were founded on, ignited, and guided by the very words spoken by the Risen
Christ prior to His ascension:
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.” (Act 1:8)
As you know, 120 believers spent ten days in united prayer leading up to the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The church began as an “awakened” and “praying” church. The
preaching and teaching was with an authority and power that cut to the heart causing hearers
to cry out, “What shall I do to be saved?” (See Acts 2:37 and 16:30). The conversion of
sinners through repentance was paramount.
78
Waugh, Geoff. Flashpoints of Revival (Kindle Locations 173-174). CreateSpace. Kindle Edition.

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 Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as
the Lord our God will call.”
 Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
 Acts 8:22 “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought
of your heart may be forgiven you.
 Acts 17:30 “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men
everywhere to repent,
 Acts 26:19-20 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, “but
declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea,
and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting
repentance.
The connection between the revival characteristics in the Early Church and the historic
revivals of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries prove that they are divine visitations with
repeated outpourings of the Holy Spirit.
There are some noticeable revival examples in the Old Testament. They remind me of an
ABCD pattern repeated throughout Israel’s history.79
A. Apostasy
B. Battered by an Enemy
C. Cry for help
D. Deliverance
Although each instance of awakenings is unique, even the shorter accounts have potent
revival features. For example, revival historian, Henry Fish, draws our attention to a short
account described in 1 Samuel 7:1-17.
“The history of revivals is the history of religion. If we consult the Bible we shall find
awakenings from the earliest times. Thus in the days of Samuel, when the people had done
evil a long time, serving Baalim, it is said “Israel lamented after the Lord,” and Samuel said,
“If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, and serve him only, he will deliver you.”
Upon doing it the blessing came. Drawing near to battle, “the Lord thundered with a great
thunder on that day upon the Philistines and discomfited them, and they were smitten before
Israel.” Then they came together and “drew water, and poured it out before the Lord;”—an
emblem, perhaps, of the fullness of their penitent sorrow, and of the felt blessings of the Most
High. The narrative is short; but there was here an effective revival. Often in the succeeding
ages hope almost expired; but “a remnant was left of those that feared the Lord;” and in the

79
This ABCD view of the Old Testament was presented in 1974 during a secular course on the Bible
at Ohio State University shortly after my conversion.

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reigns of David, and Solomon, and Asa and Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah and Josiah, seasons
of recovery and refreshing were not withheld.”80
This helps to give us a healthy perspective that the Bible documents a continual revival
pattern even though there is a tendency to pay closer attention to the major revivals. Both
Winkie Pratney and Geoff Waugh offer a list of seven Old Testament revivals in addition to
the one occurring in the time of Jonah.81
1. Jacob’s household (see Gen. 35:1–15).
2. Asa (see 2 Chron. 15:1–15).
3. Joash (see 2 Kings 11–12; 2 Chron. 23–24).
4. Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 18:1–8; 2 Chron. 29–31).
5. Josiah (see 2 Kings 22–23; 2 Chron. 34–35).
6. Haggai and Zechariah with Zerubbabel (see Ezra 5–6).
7. Ezra with Nehemiah (see Neh. 9:1–6; 12:44-47).
In addition, they list nine characteristics in these biblical revivals:82
1. They occurred in times of moral darkness and national depression.
2. Each began in the heart of a consecrated servant of God who became the energizing power
behind it.
3. Each revival rested on the Word of God, and most were the result of proclaiming God’s
Word with power.
4. All resulted in a return to the worship of God.
5. Each witnessed the destruction of idols where they existed.
6. In each revival, there was a recorded separation from sin.
7. In every revival, the people returned to obeying God’s laws.
8. There was a restoration of great joy and gladness.
9. Each revival was followed by a period of national prosperity
As you can see, there’s a remarkable connection with revival in the New Testament and those
occurring in church history.

80
Fish, Henry C. Handbook of Revivals (Kindle Locations 172-174). Counted Faithful. Kindle Edition
81
Pratney, p. 19 and Waugh, (Kindle Locations 261-265)
82
Pratney, pp. 19-20 and Waugh, (Kindle Locations 266-273).

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Chapter 5
Revival Fire
5.1 Holy Fire
In revival, there’s a lot of talk about fire. But what are we talking about? The Bible declares
that our God is a consuming fire. A quick review of the following verses reveal that this is a
holy fire because it’s forever attached to the glory and presence of God.

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 Exodus 24:17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of
the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
 Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
 Deuteronomy 9:3 “Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who goes
over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you;
so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you.
 Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
So when the Spirit is poured upon people in revival and His glory, presence, and power are
manifested, it comes with fire; holy fire. There are many biblical examples of this. Take for
instance, the burning bush. At first, Moses wondered why the bush was not being burned by
the fire, but when God called him by name, he came into the presence of the living God.
Exodus 3:3-6 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush
does not burn." So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from
the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said,
“Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand
is holy ground. “Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father-- the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon
God. (See also Acts 7:29-33)
Notice how God’s presence is connected with the fire. Moses also referred to God as “Him
who dwelt in the bush” (Deut. 33:16) when he spoke his final blessing over the tribe of
Joseph. The point is that the ground becomes holy when God visits. Revival is a divine
visitation. There’s holy fire when God comes! Revival comes with fire and ignites fire.
Interestingly, Jesus uses the burning bush passage to show that God is alive and that He is
God of the living.
Luke 20:37-38 “But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are
raised, when he called the Lord `the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob.’ “For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” (See also
Mark 12:26-27)
Moses believed in the Living God. After all, he appeared with Jesus at the Mount of
Transfiguration (See Matt. 17:1-9; Mark 9:2- 10; Luke 9:28-36). He also beheld His glory
like a consuming fire on Mount Sinai.
Exodus 24:16-18 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered
it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The
sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the
eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the
mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
It’s important to note here that God spoke to Moses in and out of the fire. He heard His voice.
The verse below is connected with the tongues of fire at Pentecost and demonstrates again
that the Lord’s voice is accompanied by “flames of fire” like bolts of lightning.

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 Acts 2:3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of
them.
 Psalm 29:7 The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
Moses rehearses everything with the people in Deuteronomy. The following selection of
passages speaks volumes about the fire of God.
 Deuteronomy 4:11-12 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the
mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
"And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words,
but saw no form; you only heard a voice.
 Deuteronomy 4:15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD
spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
 Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
 Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find
Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
 Deuteronomy 4:32-33 “For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before
you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the
other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. "Did
any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have
heard, and live?
 Deuteronomy 4:36 “Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you;
on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.
 Deuteronomy 5:4-5 “The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the
midst of the fire. "I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word
of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain.
 Deuteronomy 5:23-26 “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the
darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads
of your tribes and your elders. “And you said: `Surely the LORD our God has shown us His
glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have
seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. `Now therefore, why should we
die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore,
then we shall die. `For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God
speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
 Deuteronomy 9:10 “Then the LORD delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the
finger of God, and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the
mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
You can imagine why young King Josiah experienced such conviction when he heard read
what most scholars have concluded to be this Book of the Law. Josiah encountered revival
fire and in that fire was the voice of God and the glory of His presence. Here’s how it all
unfolded as recorded in Scripture.

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 A defiled altar at Bethel indicates a spiritual condition in serious decline (1Kings

12:25-33).
 A prophetic cry against the altar at Bethel (Note: God literally splits the altar) with the
promise of a child to be born named Josiah (1Kings 13:1-34).
 Josiah became the 16th ruler of Judah at eight years of age and did not turn from the
Lord (2Chron. 34:1-2).
 Josiah sought the Lord at sixteen and led a purge to cleanse the land of idolatry
(2Chron. 34:3-7).
 Josiah orders the repair of the temple at 26 years of age (2Chron. 34:8-13).
 Josiah tears his clothes in conviction and humbles himself before God at the reading
of the Book of the Law (2Chron. 34:18-28).
 Josiah leads a revival of worship (2Chron. 34:29-33).
 Josiah revives the people in the restoration of the Passover (2Chron. 35:1-19).
 Josiah dies in battle at 39 years of age and many, including the prophet Jeremiah,
mourn his death (2Chron. 35:20-27)
There are many amazing features of the above revival. In this revival, the Holy Ark, the
symbol of His presence, was restored in the temple.
 2 Chronicles 35:2 And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service
of the house of the LORD. Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy
to the LORD: “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel,
built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and
His people Israel. “Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses, according to your
divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction
of Solomon his son. "And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’
houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of
the Levites.
 2 Chronicles 35:18 There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of
Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept,
with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem.
Remember, the Bible documents times where the glory of God had departed like in the time
of Eli where the wife of Phinehas named her child Ichabod meaning the glory has departed
Israel. Why? Because the Ark of God, the glory of His presence and power, was no longer
there.
1 Samuel 4:21-22 Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from
Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her
husband. And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been
captured.”
Samuel’s first prophecy foretold this would happen. It was a time when the word of the Lord
was rare and before the lamp of God had gone out in the tabernacle (See 1Sam. 3:1-21).
1 Samuel 3:1-4 Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of
the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at
that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim
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that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD
where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel.
And he answered, “Here I am!”
The important observation here is to see the connection between the glory of God and the fire
of the Lord as it pertains to His presence and power in revival. Martyn Lloyd-Jones really
stresses this point. The primary reason for revival is the glory of God.
“This is my main reason for calling attention to this whole subject of revival and for urging
everybody to pray for revival, to look for it and to long for it. This is the reason – the glory of
God.”83
He effectively points out that Israel alone represented God as His glory to the pagan nations.
Isn’t the church today in a powerless condition? Isn’t the church looked down upon by
society? Isn’t the name of Jesus held in reproach to say the least? We live in a godless age
and this should bother us. How much does this bother you? Although there’s always the
tendency to focus revival on physical manifestations we discussed earlier, it’s crucial we
don’t miss the mark. Lloyd-Jones clearly reminds us of this by pointing us toward the
manifestation of God’s glory more than anything else.
“Our overriding, controlling reason for having any interest at all in these matters should be
the glory of God… But, we are living in such an age and the main reason we should be
praying about revival is that we are anxious to see God’s name vindicated and his glory
manifested. We should be anxious to see something happening that will arrest the nations, all
the peoples, and cause them to stop and think again.”84
The supreme purpose of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ. Jesus made this
very clear in His teachings about the Spirit and also when He raised Lazarus from the dead.
 John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
 John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see
the glory of God?”
 John 16:13-14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and
He will tell you things to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and
declare it to you.
So in revival we should be praying like Moses. “Please, show me Your glory.” (Exodus
33:18). Revival manifests His glory and it comes with Holy Fire when the King of Glory
comes in.
5.2 The Fire Anointing
Evangelist Charles Finney gives a remarkable account of his encounter with God where he
received a mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit.

83
Ibid., p. 119
84
Ibid., p. 120

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“But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the
Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that
there was any such thing for me, without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing
mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that
seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of
electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of
liquid love, for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God.
I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.”85
There was, of course, a natural fire present, but it’s the spiritual fire that flowed through his
body like a powerful electric current. Was Finney’s baptism with the Holy Spirit a baptism of
fire? John the Baptist spoke of this baptism and the Pentecost experience also confirms this.
 Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming
after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire.
 Acts 2:1-4 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues,
as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This certainly leads us to think that there’s a fire anointing in revival. This is how God taught
us about this.
The important verses of Scripture about fire are as follows:
 Zechariah 2:1-13 (vs 5) And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD,
‘and I will be its glory within.’ (Note: chomah is an active participle referring to a wall of
protection)
 Psalms 104:4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. (Note: refers to a
blazing fire rather than a spark or low burning one)
 2 Timothy 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in
you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a
spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (Note: anazopureo means to fire up or fan into
flame)
This is why Jesus forbid James and John from calling down the fire upon a village that
rejected the message. What about Sodom and Gomorrah? Don’t forget Abraham’s clear
example of intercession before the judging fire fell from heaven. Even during the Great
Tribulation, God in His mercy is extending opportunity for repentance and salvation. So let’s
be clear on this point.
Revelation 9:20-21 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not
repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold,

85
Finney, (Kindle Locations 13074-13079).

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silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not
repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
What are we talking about when we speak of the fire anointing? There are at least four points
applicable to revivals.
1. The Fire we are talking about today is heavenly/spiritual. It is a significant part of
God’s identity and appearance. For this reason, the spiritual fire is sacred or holy. As we
pointed out earlier, it’s appropriate to use the term, “Holy Fire!” There are even angels of fire
in heaven called “seraphim.” (Isaiah 6:2). “Above him were seraphs… These were literally
“burning ones,” or “on-fire angels.” Daniel, Ezekiel, and John also experienced an awesome
visitation of God’s presence and power like fire.
 Daniel 10:6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like
torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in colour, and the sound of his words
like the voice of a multitude.
 Ezekiel 8:1-4 In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my
house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came
upon me there. 2 I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. £ From what appeared to be
his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing
metal. 3 He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The
Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem,
to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy
stood. 4 And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in
the plain. (Note: Who was this man of fire?)
 Revelation 1:12-16 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I
turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of
man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing
waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged
sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Note: a similar description is
found in Rev. 19)
2. Biblical Fire is associated with (symbolic of) God’s presence, God’s Word, and the
Holy Spirit. The burning bush and Mt. Sinai are two great examples of God coming in the
fire.
 Exodus 3:2-6 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a
bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I
will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD
saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his
face, because he was afraid to look at God.

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 Exodus 19:16-19 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a
thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of
the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in
fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain£
trembled violently, 19and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses
spoke and the voice of God answered him.
 Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that
breaks a rock in pieces?
 Matthew 3:11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is
more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and with fire.
3. Miraculous things are connected with the descending of the fire of God upon the
sacrifices (Offerings)
 Abraham – Genesis 15:17 – And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark,
that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those
pieces. (firepot and a blazing/flaming torch)
 Aaron – Lev. 9:24 - the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the
presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And
when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
 Gideon – Judges 6:21 Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in
His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and
consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of
his sight. (Jdg 6:21 NKJ)
 Manoah – Judges 13:19-20 – Angel of the Lord did wonderful things in the flame of the
offering.
 David – 1 Chron. 21:26 - He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire
from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. (Threshing floor of Araunah)
 Solomon – 2 Chron. 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven
and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the
temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD
filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above
the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and
gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
 Elijah – 1 Kings 18:38 – Called (prayed) heavens fire down to reveal the only true God.
The God who answers by fire is God! Also, he was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire
4. Blessings come with the Fire Anointing
 Illumination and Protection – Exodus 13:21; 14:19-20; Psalm 78:14

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 Purification/searching (Refining Fire) Isaiah 4:4; 6:6-7; Zeph. 1:12; Malachi 3:2-3; 1 Cor.
2:10; 3:13
 Spiritual Power in releasing gifts (tongues of fire) Acts 2::3
 Annihilation of Satan’s schemes 2 Kings 6:17; Rev. 20:9
 Personal & Corporate Revival Rev. 3:18
If we present our spiritual sacrifices at the foot of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ,
then will He again answer by fire? Just a brief review of the below Scriptures reveals that
God will answer with fire when He comes in revival.
 Exodus 13:21-22 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them
on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day
or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front
of the people.
 Psalms 78:14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
 Isaiah 6:6-7 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had
taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched
your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
 Mark 9:49-50 Everyone will be salted with fire. “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness,
how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in
praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed
 2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD
opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire
all around Elisha.
 Rev. 20:9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s
people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
 Rev. 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich;
and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on
your eyes, so you can see.
Revival fire is the antidote for the lukewarm church. In revival, the fire of God attacks every
sin, enemy stronghold, and disbelief to revive, deliver, refine, and restore genuine faith in His
people. Revival fire prepares us to stand in God’s presence and declare in His glorious
presence, “The LORD is my God.”
 Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He
appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a
purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That
they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.

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 Zechariah 13:9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is
refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them.
I will say, `This is My people’; And each one will say, `The LORD is my God.’”
5.3 People on Fire
Jerusalem is in affliction due to the gravity of her sins, her uncleanness, and her rebellion
against God. Jeremiah is praying with much travail and weeping.
 Lamentations 1:13 “From above He has sent fire into my bones, And it overpowered
them; He has spread a net for my feet And turned me back; He has made me desolate And
faint all the day.
 Lamentations 1:16 “For these things I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water;
Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me. My children are desolate
Because the enemy prevailed.”
The prophet knew God was the only one who could bring revival and restoration. In his
intercession, the spiritual fire penetrated his bones. The fire of God was so powerful that he
could not physically stand.
There are a number of fascinating accounts of people on fire in the historical revivals. Geoff
Waugh shares about the 1905 revival in a compound at Pune (Poona) near Bombay or
modern Mumbai, India, among child widows and orphan girls during a severe famine. The
school had been established by Pandita Ramabai who started teaching the girls about revival.
Over 500 met twice daily to pray for revival. What happened is that God visited with revival
fire.
On June 29, 1905, the Spirit moved on many of the girls. The girls saw flames engulfing one
of the girls, so they raced to get a bucket of water, only to discover she was not being burned.
Then on Friday, June 30, while Ramabai taught about Jesus’ love for a despised woman
caught in adultery from John 8, the Holy Spirit suddenly fell on them all with great power.
Everyone there began to weep and pray aloud, crying out to be baptized with the Holy Spirit
and fire. One 12-year-old girl, who was normally very plain in physical appearance, became
radiantly beautiful and laughed constantly. Others had visions of Jesus.86
Needless to say the revival spread like fire throughout the region and visitors to the mission
compound observed the girls speaking in perfect English and other foreign languages and it
was like tongues of fire.
The revivals in Korea and East Africa also underscore the effect of revival fire upon God’s
people. The Korean Pentecost of 1907 began in Pyongyang among college students at Union
Christian College and one 21-year-old student in particular, Kol Sun Ju who preached a
strong revival message of confession and repentance of sins. God used Kil to revive faith and
restore signs, wonders, and miracles in the Korean church.
“Kil challenged a theological position strongly held by the resident Presbyterian missionaries
in Korea— cessationism. This doctrine rejected the continuing validity of signs and wonders,
phenomena that fills the New Testament record. The basis for this rejection is the completion

86
Waugh, Geoff. Flashpoints of Revival (Kindle Locations 876-881)

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of the New Testament…Rather than seeking such movements as extraordinary, Kil implied
that the visitation of kingdom powers should be a regular experience of the faithful church.” 87
This marked a new paradigm for the Korean church as a number of leaders in the movement
began to experience many healings, deliverances, and other miracles in the ministry.
Interestingly an investigation by the Presbyterian Church in 1923 called the Certificate of
Miracles led to a tremendous change and removal from church bylaws of this statement, “the
power of doing miracles had ceased at the present time.”88 The bottom line was that these
men experienced the fire of the Holy Spirit as one missionary so aptly noted:
“These men, who are to be the pastors of Korean churches, experienced the fire of the Holy
Spirit burning sin out of their lives.”89
This revival and spiritual fervor formed the basis for a later wave of revival spearheaded by
David Yongii Cho, who today pastors the largest church in the world of more than 700,000.
Another revival, The East Africa Revival beginning in 1931 under Simeon Nsibambi of
Uganda and his younger brother, Blasio Kigozi, was given a very special name in describing
the movement.
“Kigozi initiated early morning prayer meetings to pray for revival. Special “missions” to
outlying areas now began. Soon the movement had acquired the pejorative term abaka
(burning ones).”90
This became known as the Balokole Revival. Its revival leaders viewed the root problem to
be deadness in the church that, in return, was rooted in the deadness within Christians
themselves. The revival impacted the churches mightily and gave the people of East Africa a
new identity.
“People were no longer simply the colonized. They were the “Awakened Ones” or “Those on
Fire.” They were the “saved.”91
This is the same identity God’s people need today. Can we call ourselves Bakazufu, Abaka, or
Balokole, those on fire, the saved ones, and the alive ones?
The Acts 2 Pentecost revival is the model for all revivals and the fire of God was a key
feature both then and now. Revival fire burns out sin and as It is the antidote to a dead and
lukewarm church. Revivals have a global impact. They are spread by spiritual fire as the
Pentecostal movement stemming from the Azusa Street Revival indicates.
“The exploding Pentecostal movement around the world usually traces its origins to Azusa
Street, from where fire spread across the globe.”92
What can we conclude from all this talk about revival fire? One thing is that revivals are
needed to ignite us again with a burning passion/zeal for the things of God. Yes, there’s the

87
Shaw, Mark. Global Awakening: How 20th-Century Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution (pp.
43-44) Kindle Edition
88
Ibid., pp. 44-45
89
Ibid., p. 41
90
Ibid., pp. 95-96
91
Ibid., p. 108
92
Waugh, (Kindle Locations 944-945)

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need for a restoration of New Testament structure and a reawakening of the church to God-
centered priorities; however, this will quickly fade if we lose our passion. The New
Testament believers possessed and maintained a level of spiritual fervency that we only see
during periods of revival. One of the overarching things that separates them from us is that
they were fervent in spirit. They were engulfed with spiritual fire! They could not impact
cities without being fervent in spirit! The Bible exhorts us to be fervent in spirit.
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving
preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
What does fervent in spirit mean? Fervent (zeloo) means “to boil with heat, hot, seethe with
burning zeal.” Zealous (zelos) refers to one who is “most enthusiastic, ardently desires to
join, promote, actively support, possess, defend, strive for, earnestly exert oneself.” Spiritual
fervency is something you got to have and keep! There are a number of areas where we are
be on fire for God.
 Eager for God and His Word - Paul told his Jewish accusers that he was ZEALOUS FOR
GOD. He also told Gentile Believers that the Jews had this testimony: They were
“ZEALOUS FOR GOD” but without knowledge. We are to be on fire for God and His word
with the knowledge of the truth.
o Romans 10:2-3 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not
according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
o 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does
not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (Note: Greek spoudazo,
spoo-dad-zoe, used here means to exert oneself, make haste, make every effort, give
diligence, be zealous, strain every nerve to further the cause arduously and covers
inception, prompt action, and follow through)
 Eager to repent – How often are you on fire to receive God’s discipline and correction
through repentance?
o Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
repent.
 Eager for the House of God – When Jesus cleansed the temple His disciples remembered,
o John 2:17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house
has eaten Me up.”
 Eager for one another
o 2 Corinthians 7:7 …and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with
which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your
mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
 Eager for spiritual gifts – in order to excel in building up the body of Christ.
o 1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may
prophesy.

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o 1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for
the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
 Eager to work good - doing good for the glory of Christ is to occupy you.
o Titus 2:14 …who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless
deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
o Galatians 2:10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing
which I also was eager to do. (Note: Greek spoudazo, used here as referenced earlier)
There’s also evidence of spiritual fervency in those who are on fire for God. They are stirred,
pressed, purposed, and bound in the spirit and by the Spirit.
 Stirred (provoked) in his spirit: Paul’s spirit was aroused within him. His spirit urged
Him on. It sharpened a desire. He was stimulated with a desire to convert the
Athenians with the truth about God and to deliver the city from idols.
o Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within
him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

 Pressed (compelled) by the Spirit: Paul was absorbed in mind and spirit with the
desire to turn that city (Corinth) upside down for God. It controlled him and embraced
his every thought. The thought held him completely.
o Acts 18:5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled
by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

 Purposed in the Spirit: Paul resolved to do it. Visiting Rome was firmly established
in his spirit. Being fervent in the spirit means we’ve made the committed decision to
do all God has stirred our hearts to do.
o Acts 19:21 When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when
he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I
have been there, I must also see Rome.”

 Bound in the spirit: Paul was supernaturally bound/tied to the course of ministry God
had outlined for him to accomplish. He was fastened tied to the vision. The word of
God cannot be bound but the preacher can.
o Acts 20:22 “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the
things that will happen to me there,
o 2 Timothy 2:8-10 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from
the dead according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to
the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure all
things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in
Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
What’s your level of spiritual fervency? If it’s cold or lukewarm, that can all change! Revival
fire ignites and fans the passion within the lukewarm heart. This is why you must welcome
and pray for the fire, then catch it and keep it. It comes with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
in revival. This final quote from Geoff Waugh says it all:

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“Flashpoints of revival ignited the early Church and turned their world upside down (see Acts
17:6). Fire has fallen again and again in revivals, and still does. We need to be people full of
repentance, humility, faith, vision, wisdom, love, and the fire of the Holy Spirit as we live for
God in our moment in history.”93

Chapter 6
Revival Fruit
6.1 Conversion Growth
An Acts 2 understanding of revival is essential to expect the same results of the Early
Church. A closer examination of Acts 2 reveals the following truth about revivals.
“As with Pentecost, revivals are often unexpected, sudden, and revolutionary, and they
impact large numbers of people, bringing them to repentance and faith in Jesus the Lord.” 94
The rate of conversion growth is astronomical in revival and has not gone unnoticed by
revivalists and historians of revivals. In fact, more is accomplished in one week in a revival
than years of evangelistic work. Jonathan Edwards points this out in his narrative.
93
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 2660-2661)
94
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 296-297)

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“The work seemed to be at its greatest height in this town in the former part of the spring, in
March and April. At that time God’s work in the conversion of souls was carried on amongst
us in so wonderful a manner, that, so far as I can judge, it appears to have been at the rate at
least of four persons in a day; or near thirty in a week, take one with another, for five or six
weeks together. When God in so remarkable a manner took the work into His own hands,
there was much done in a day or two, as in ordinary times, with all endeavours that men can
use, and with such a blessing as we commonly have, is done in a year”95
Revival accelerates the advance of God’s kingdom on earth. Revivals are a strategic part of
God’s grand scheme of things. The work of God in the Early Church is destined to continue
and not cease. Revival historian, Henry Fish, makes an interesting observation.
“And it is interesting to observe that this blessed work continued on through the post-
apostolic age. It was by a succession of marvellous revivals, as we should call them, rather
than by the gradual addition of a few souls at a time, that the churches during the first few
centuries made their triumphant onsets upon the powers of darkness… Such an extension of
Christianity, as a historian has remarked, presupposes a progress of the work of conversion
immensely more rapid than what we now observe. The very persecutions also prove this.
There must have been a great amount of fuel to support such fires.”96
It’s important to look at Acts 2 once again to see the applicable principles behind the amazing
and accelerated conversion growth in revivals. Geoff Waugh provides one of the best outlines
of these revival principles. The fundamental principles that follow should be taught in
churches around the world.97
 God’s Sovereignty: Notice how this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was God’s timing
and place.
o Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place.

 Prayer: These 120 believers were in prayer for ten days following the Ascension of
Christ. This was a praying people.
o Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. (See also Acts 2:1)

 Unity: They were also in a spirit of agreement. Revival destroys barriers and produces
a unified mind and purpose.
o Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place.

 Obedience to the Spirit: They sought what Jesus had promised. They sought the
Holy Spirit. Revival is all about needing and seeking the Spirit.
o Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

95
Edwards, A Faithful Narrative, Section II
96
Fish, Henry C. Handbook of Revivals (Kindle Locations 224, 233).
97
Waugh, (Kindle Locations 297-311)

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 Preaching: Peter boldly preached God’s word. We need the same anointed preaching
today.
o Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them,
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my
words.

 Repentance: Peter preached repentance in obedience to Christ (See Mark 1:14; 6:12-
13; Luke 24:46-49). Conviction of sin is a key function of the Holy Spirit in revival
(See John 16:8-11). Revival produces repentance on a massive scale.
o Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and
the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to
them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 Evangelism: Thousands were converted as believers prayed and witnessed in the

power of the Holy Spirit. Revivals produce a zeal in believers to pray for the lost and
witness to them.
o Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about
three thousand souls were added to them.
It’s essential to have this Acts 2 understanding of revival when faced with the overwhelming
aspect of conversion growth. This growth in the Early Church was staggering to say the least.
Following the 3,000 at Pentecost, Scripture documents the following conversion growth.
 Acts 4:4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of
the men came to be about five thousand.
 Acts 5:14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men
and women.
 Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied
greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
 Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace
and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy
Spirit, they were multiplied.
 Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and
turned to the Lord.
 Acts 11:24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great
many people were added to the Lord.
 Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
 Acts 16:5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number
daily.
The historical revivals also confirmed the same pattern and intensity of conversion. For
example, from December 1734 into 1735 the revival that swept through New England
produced 50,000 converts out of 250,000 colonists.98 Just catch your breath for a moment.
That’s 20% of the population at the time. No wonder Jonathan Edwards and others were so
amazed by and preoccupied with the conversion of sinners in revival. Edwards said that “the

98
Ibid., (Kindle Location 412)

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work of conversion was carried on in the most astonishing manner, and increased more and
more; souls did as it were come by flocks to Jesus Christ.”99 He reported this went on daily
and month after month. Charles Finney rightly concluded that “a revival consists in the
return of the Church from her backslidings, and in the conversion of sinners” and “a revival
always includes conviction of sin on the part of the Church.”100 It is said that 500,000 people
were converted through Finney’s ministry and that over 80% of these converts stayed to
Christ.101 The 1857-1858 revival in America swept through places like New York where
“50,000 of New York’s 800,000 people were new converts.”102 In fact, one newspaper
reported that “New England was profoundly changed by the revival, and in several towns no
unconverted adults could be found.”103 The 1905 Welsh Revival produced similar results.
Revival historian Edwin Orr reports phenomenal conversion growth over a short period of
time. The results were even reported in local newspapers at the time.
“Totals of converts added to the churches were published in local newspapers, 70,000 in two
months, 85,000 in five, and more than a hundred thousand in half a year. Eighty thousand
were still in the membership of the Welsh churches in 1914.”104
The 1907 Azusa Street Revival led to a global Pentecostal movement. For example, the
powerful revivals in the Belgian Congo in 1914 and the East African Revival beginning in
June 1936 in Rwanda and spreading into Burundi, Uganda and beyond have positioned
Africa as a place of continual revivals. One Anglican Archdeacon wrote:
“I have been to all the stations where this Revival is going on, and they all have the same
story to tell. The fire was alight in all of them before the middle of June, but during the last
week in June, it burst into a wild flame which, like the African grass fire before the wind,
cannot be put out.”105
The East Africa Revival continued for 40-50 years and helped to bring Africa from a
continent of ten percent Christian to over fifty percent Christian today.
The 1965 Indonesian Revival started in a Bible School in East Java. Again, typical to all
revivals, there was remarkable conversion growth. In fact, one church presbytery noted the
following:
“The Reformed Church Presbytery on Timor recorded 80,000 conversions in the first year of
the revival there, half of those being former communists. They noted that some 15,000 people
had been permanently healed in that year. After three years the number of converts had
grown to over 200,000. In those three years, over 200 evangelistic teams were formed. On
another island where there had been very few Christians, 20,000 became believers in the first
three years of the revival.”106

99
Edwards, Section II
100
Finney, (Kindle Location 4143)
101
Pratney, Revival. Pp. 127, 135
102
Waugh, (Kindle Location 706)
103
Ibid.
104
Orr, The Flaming Tongue, p. 17
105
Waugh, Flashpoints of Revival (Kindle Locations 1067-1068)
106
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 1334-1336)

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The point that is made here is that revivals are always marked by the fruits of the harvest; in
this case the conversion of souls. This is true of the historical revivals and the most recent
ones like the 1995 Pensacola Revival where “over 26,000 conversions were registered in the
first year” and “over 100,000” conversions” in the first two years.107
6.2. Reawakening the Church
One of the primary reasons for God sending revivals is to reawaken His church. Jesus revives
the church before those on the outside. Even judgment begins first in the church according to
the word of God.
1 Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it
begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
This is why Christians must take seriously Jesus’ message to the churches in Rev. 2 and 3 and
in the message to the lukewarm Laodicea church.
Revelation 3:14-22 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, `These things
says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know
your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. “So then,
because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
“Because you say, `I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’- and do not
know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked- “I counsel you to buy from
Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be
clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye
salve, that you may see. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
repent. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. “To him who overcomes I will
grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His
throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.””
Pay close attention. This is the only church that is given no commendation. Instead, Jesus is
declaring that the church is “lukewarm” and makes Him sick of His stomach. Generally
speaking, “lukewarm” is a spiritual condition somewhere between love and loyalty. It’s
interesting to note that Laodicea was near Hierapolis to the north, which had a natural hot
springs, and Colossae to the east which had cold, pure water. Laodicea, however, had no
permanent natural supply of good water. Spiritually speaking, Jesus is warning the church for
not providing the spiritual healing nor the spiritual refreshment that comes in revival. His
counsel is for them to eagerly repent and be refined in revival fire. Fast forward to today. Do
you understand the gravity of the situation Jesus so clearly describes? Many pastors are
delivering motivational speeches to churches that are lukewarm when Jesus, the Head of the
Church, is intending to spit out the lukewarm churches unless they repent and are revived.
The point here is that no revival is limited to just the church members, but all revivals begin
with the reviving of church members and the churches through the merciful outpouring of the
Holy Spirit. The British Evangelist, G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945) noted this truth
regarding the 1905 Welsh Revival.

107
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 2417)

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“What is the character of this revival? It is a church revival. I do not mean by that merely a
revival among church members…meetings are held in the chapels, all up and down the
valleys, and it began among church members; and when it touches the outside man, it makes
him a church member at once. It is a movement in the church and of the church, a movement
in which the true functions and forces of the church are being exercised and fulfilled.”108
Charles Finney is right when he says, “When the Churches are thus awakened and reformed,
the reformation and salvation of sinners will follow.”109 The world is laughing at the church
today and this is why the words of Finney ring so true in our time.
There must be a waking up of energy on the part of Christians, and an outpouring of God’s
Spirit, or the world will laugh at the Church.110
Do you understand that revival is God’s merciful plan, for if the church is not awakened, then
God will surely visit them with His judgments? Again, reflect on what Finney says about this:
“How often God visited the Jewish Church with judgments because they would not repent
and be revived at the call of His prophets! How often have we seen Churches, and even
whole denominations, cursed with a curse, because they would not wake up and seek the
Lord, and pray: “Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?” …
Nothing but a revival of religion can preserve such a Church from annihilation. A Church
declining in this way cannot continue to exist without a revival. If it receives new members,
they will, for the most part, be made up of ungodly persons.”111
Although we can all agree that the church needs reawakened, there is tremendous fruit when
God sends a revival and she does awake. One thing that happens is that the church gets so
filled with the Spirit that they begin to travail in prayer for the conversion of sinners. Their
prayers daily bring them forth like birthing new babies (See Isaiah 66:8). Prayer meetings
multiply. The evangelistic fervor of the church goes to an Early Church level. There is the
recognition that nothing can be done without the influence of the Holy Spirit. Revival takes a
very strong hold on the church first. Henry Fish says this about the Holy Spirit:
“Genuine revivals are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “Until the Spirit be poured out from on
high,” saints are neither quickened nor sinners saved. The effective cause in all true revivals
is the life-giving, light-imparting, quickening, regenerating and sanctifying energy of the
Holy Spirit, converting the hardened sinner and reclaiming the backslidden and dormant
believer.”112
One of the things that needs to be pointed out here is that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in
revival produces conversion of unconverted ministers and members of the churches. Few
want to take this into account and in the historical revivals these conversions were not
counted. Fish brings this out in his revival handbook:
“It must also be taken into account, that in those earlier revivals great numbers of church-
members were converted, and not put down among reported conversions. Says Tracy of the

108
Orr, p. 20
109
Finney, (Kindle Location 4162)
110
Finney, (Kindle Locations 4301-4302)
111
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 4315-4319)
112
Fish, Henry C. Handbook of Revivals (Kindle Locations 63-66)

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work at the time of Edwards, “the practice of admitting to the communion all persons neither
heretical nor scandalous, was general in the Presbyterian church, and prevailed extensively
among the Congregational churches. In consequence, a large proportion of the communicants
in both were unconverted persons. Multitudes of these were converted. In some cases the
revival seems to have been almost wholly within the church, and to have resulted in the
conversion of nearly all the members.” A large addition ought to be made, on this score, to
the estimated number of conversions.”113
So, revivals have a two-fold gain, according to Fish. Revivals bring gain from within and
from without. Numerical growth is usually what draws the attention of most, but the
conversion of the church is necessary to produce such results through the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit in revival.
“And this re-conversion of the churches was far more important than mere numerical
accessions. Unconverted members are a dead weight, which no church can afford to carry:
and the bodies were thus relieved from these encumbrances.”114
Revivals also produce strong churches and strong ministers. This was the case throughout the
history of revivals.
“It must be remembered to that revivals mightily increase the number of ministers. It is when
thousands of youth are gathered into the churches that our young men come forward, saying,
“Here am I, send me.” What an exhibit that would be if we were able to give the names of all
the ministers of the last hundred years who were converted in revivals! We believe that nine-
tenths of them were the children of revivals.115
Just think of it! Ninety percent increase in Spirit-filled anointed ministers of the Gospel from
revivals. Fish reminds us of the remarkable quality of these ministers. They were ministers of
the Spirit.
“But there is a higher ministerial qualification than bare conversion: namely, the possession
of a large measure of the Holy Spirit. And how many a minister has had his whole character
and style of preaching remodelled by precious revival experiences.”116
The impact of revival upon the churches cannot be underestimated. In fact, it was estimated
from 1815-1840 in America that the Spirit was poured out on 400-500 churches and
congregations each year resulting in between 40,000 to 50,000 new converts annually added
to the church.117 Not only do revivals repeat the numerical growth of Acts, they wake up the
church to “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” (Matt. 28:19). The fruit of
these revivals speak volumes to the church and world at large.
“In these revivals the holy fire was kindled which waked up and warmed the churches to an
onward aggressive movement such as had never been known in this country before.”118
Revival should be a regular experience of the faithful church.
113
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 939-944)
114
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 950-952)
115
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 882-885)
116
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 875-876)
117
Ibid., (Kindle Location 581)
118
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 825-826)

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6.3 Transformation in Revival

There has been a lot of interest in the subject of transformation in recent years. Although
some tend to overemphasize or take this important concept out of context, transformation is a
primary focus of revivals. For example, Evangelist Randy Clark makes a very important
distinction regarding the 1995 revival in Melbourne, Florida, where people falling out in the
Spirit was a common and frequent occurrence.
“The “falling” aspect of this visitation was the most visible manifestation, but it was not
falling that was important. What was important was the fact that people were rising up with
more love for God in their hearts than ever before. They were being changed, and their hearts
set ablaze.”119
Transformation is biblical. It’s essential to understand that the outpouring of the Spirit in
revival produces change. Transformation does not produce change; revival does!
Transformation comes in three forms: personal, corporate, and society. Revival must be
understood as embracing all three of these dynamics. Mark Shaw indicates, “Revivals
understood in the fullest sense must incorporate spiritual, structural and social
transformation.”120
The Bible uses several transformation words. A look at these and their meanings reveals just
how much transformation has to do with revival. In fact, a revival without transformation
cannot be called a revival at all.
 metamorphoo – to change into another form, to transfigure
 metaschematizo – to change the figure of
 allasso – to change, to exchange one thing for another
 metatithemi – to transpose (two things, one of which is put in place of the other; to be
or allow one’s self to be transformed and/or transferred, changed; to go or pass over;
to fall away or desert from one thing to another
 metaballo – to turn around or about; change one’s opinion
One of the things presented at a 2013 conference on kingdom transformation in Nigeria was
that “transformation begins with me.” So personal transformation is the most fundamental
part of revival. There are at least five areas where the Bible directly speaks of transformation.
The following chart indicates each aspect and the indicated change or transformation
Point of Transformation Transformational Change
Our Hearts (John 3:3; Rom. 2:28-29) New spiritual birth/born again
Our worldly mind (Rom. 12:2) Renewing by the Spirit to know God’s will
Our natural appearance (2 Cor. 3:18) Degrees of glory to be more like His image
Our natural body (Phil. 3:21; Cor. 15:51-52)Conformed to His glorious body
The Priesthood and the ministry (Heb. 7:12) Unchangeable priesthood & new priestly
pattern and ministry
Source: Dr. Michael D. Gross: 5-Fold Global Ministries
The important thing to keep in mind is that revival changes things. Those that believe they
can just keep doing what they have been doing when revival strikes have another thing

119
Waugh, Flashpoints of Revivals (Kindle Locations 2348-2350)
120
Shaw, Mark. Global Awakening, p. 16. Kindle Edition.

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coming. Although there’s an understanding that transformation is a process, revival greatly

speeds the process up in every dynamic area. The Holy Spirit moves so suddenly and
overwhelmingly in a revival that people are transformed by the power of God in literally
moments. This is why the Bible exhorts us to present ourselves as living sacrifices in service
to God.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Greek word for renewing is anakainosis (an-ak-ah‘-ee-no-sis). It refers to a total
renovation; a change for the better. What a great revival word! In the context of the renewing
of the mind, it could refer to an adjustment from a worldly mindedness to the mind of Christ.
This is one of the big paradigm shifts that takes place in a revival. Suddenly, the number one
interest on the minds of people and in their conversation are the things of God. They are
inoculated with spiritual things and preoccupied with the Holy Spirit. Nothing else matters.
It’s just like Paul told the Galatians:
Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything,
but a new creation.
Revivals transform everything by the power of God. Author Mark Shaw identifies four major
changes or shifts that take place in revivals. He views each of these features as an
“expression of life in the Spirit” central to the Early Church in Acts 2 and 4. Each shift moved
individuals from the fallen world systems of society into the kingdom of God or the “reality
of the risen and ruling Christ.”121
1. Personal liberation
2. Eschatological vision
3. Radical community
4. Evangelical activism
Keep in mind that there are major paradigm shifts produced by revivals. They are well
documented throughout Scripture. Revival conditions the church to welcome these shifts
rather than resisting them.
Transformational Shift Biblical Expressions

121
Ibid., pp. 17-18

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Personal liberation – captives freed from Acts 26:17-18 `I will deliver you from the
bondage, set free from spiritual bondage, Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles,
acquired assurance of salvation, no longer to whom I now send you, 18 `to open their
slaves to sin, move from orphan status to eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to
adopted by God. light, and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins
and an inheritance among those who are
sanctified by faith in Me.'

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the

Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the

spirit of bondage again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of adoption by whom we
cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Eschatological vision – the people live with 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 For you yourselves
the reality of the soon return of Jesus Christ, know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
an urgency in pursuing the things of God comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when
replace complacency, there is an they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden
overwhelming urge that cannot be contained destruction comes upon them, as labor pains
to preach the resurrection of the dead in upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not
Christ and to warn others those without escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in
Christ of eternal judgment darkness, so that this Day should overtake
you as a thief.

2 Corinthians 6:2 For He says: “In an

acceptable time I have heard you, And in
the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold,
now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2 For He says: “In an

acceptable time I have heard you, And in
the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold,
now is the day of salvation.

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Radical community – renewed dependence Acts 2:42-47 And they continued

upon Christ and one another, fellowship steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
built around united prayer and God’s word fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in
prayers.

Acts 4:32 Now the multitude of those who

believed were of one heart and one soul;
neither did anyone say that any of the things
he possessed was his own, but they had all
things in common.

Evangelical activism – outward mission Acts 8:4 Therefore those who were
replaces survival or maintenance mode, the scattered went everywhere preaching the
conversion of sinners in evangelism and word.
social action take over all other endeavors
Acts 11:19-21 Now those who were
scattered after the persecution that arose
over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia,
Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to
no one but the Jews only. But some of them
were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who,
when they had come to Antioch, spoke to
the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them,
and a great number believed and turned to
the Lord.

Source: Dr. Michael D. Gross: 5-Fold Global Ministries

The above breakdown describes revivals to a tee. Revivals set multitudes free through the
power of the Holy Spirit. Revival changes things. People are transformed, churches are
transformed, and the change doesn’t stop there because revival also transforms cities and
nations. A religious journal describing the 1858 American revival chronicles the widespread
transformation.
“Such a time as the present was never known since the days of the Apostles, for revivals. The
prostration of business, the downfall of Mammon, the great god of worship to the multitudes
in this land, both in and out of the church, the sinfulness and vanity of earthly treasures, as
the supreme good, have come home to the hearts and consciences of the millions in our land
with a power that seems irresistible. Revivals now cover our very land, sweeping all before
them, as on the day of Pentecost, exciting the earnest and simultaneous cry from thousands,
‘What shall we do to be saved?’ They have taken hold of the community at large to such an
extent that now they are the engrossing theme of conversation in all circles of society.

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Ministers seem baptised with the Holy Ghost and preach with new power and earnestness,
bringing the truth home to the conscience and life as rarely before. Meetings are held for
prayer, for exhortation, and for conversation, with the deepest interest, and the most
astonishing results. Not only are they held in the church and from house to house, but in the
great marts of trade and centres of business. Halls are selected, where men may leave their
worldly cares for an hour, and by multitudes, without form or ceremony, drop in, fall on their
knees and pray, with a few words of exhortation and entreaty, and then go about their usual
business. In New York there is a most astonishing interest in all the churches, seeming as if
that great and populous and depraved city was enveloped in one conflagration of divine
influence. Union prayer-meetings are held in the principal centres, and here thousands on
thousands gather daily. Prayer and conference meetings are held in retired rooms connected
with large commercial houses, and with the best effects. The large cities and towns generally
from Maine to California are sharing in this great and glorious work. There is hardly a village
or town to be found where a special divine power does not appear to be displayed. It really
seems as if the Millennium was upon us in its glory.”122
America today finds itself in spiritual decline. For the most part American churches are
lukewarm and church members have become resistant to even the notion of repentance. The
spirit of antichrist is emboldened. America is ripe for judgment and in desperate need for a
widespread revival that will produce the transformation from rampant secularism to a
spiritual people. The revival cry must be sounded again and again throughout the land.
Psalm 85:6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?

122
Fish, Handbook of Revivals (Kindle Locations 702-716)

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Conclusion
The concept of revival appeared for the first time in 1702 when a powerful spiritual
awakening gained serious attention from the general public and society (compare to Orr,
1981, iii). Thus, the concept originated in a particular place and time. Over time, it became
more and more defined in accordance with the Old Testament. This particular discussion is
not concerned about the historical development of the concept of revival, nor does it study the
revival experiences within church history, or bring judgment on them. It is limited to a
process of indicating to what extent the Old Testament concept of revival is compatible with
the New Testament. The solution proposed affirms that from the standpoint of the biblical
text, it is necessary to recognize that the same or similar terms in both Testaments do not
necessarily always reflect the same meanings or realities. Therefore, it is required to
recognize and accept similarities, but also differences. The key idea is that the Old Testament
concept of revival needs to be anticipated within the New Testament context of Christ's
salvific act and the arrival of God's kingdom because renewal and revitalization, the activity
of God's Spirit and others, are related to both concepts. The church today should not wait for
some perfect time called “revival” in order to reach the unsaved because the kingdom of God
is already here among us. But at the same time, the New Testament clearly points to a kind of
awakening and fulfilling of believers with the Spirit and power of God which are necessary to
act in that manner.

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