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(1)The
Kind Of Revival We Need by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
"I am glad of any signs of life, even if they should be feverish
and transient, and I am slow to judge any well intended movement, but I
am very fearful that many so called revivals in the long run wrought more
harm than good. A species of religious gambling has fascinated many men,
and given them a distaste for the sober business of true godliness. But
if I would nail down counterfeits upon the counter, I do not therefore
undervalue true gold. Far from it. It is to be desired beyond measure that
the Lord would send a real and lasting revival of spiritual life. ... We
want a revival of old-fashioned doctrine. I know not a single doctrine
which is not at this hour studiously undermined by those who ought to be
its defenders. There is not a truth that is precious to the soul which
is not now denied by those whose profession it is to proclaim it. To me
it is clear that we need a revival of old-fashioned gospel preaching like
that of Whitefield and Wesley. The Scriptures must be made the infallible
foundation of all teaching; the ruin, redemption and regeneration of mankind
must be set forth in unmistakable terms."
(2) Revival
& Revival Mentality The Trinity Review, 1991
"Do we need revival? No! We need transformation. And this transformation
cannot be achieved by "weeping and wailing" before God (as the revivalists
would have us do), brought on by some "unusual" outpouring of the Spirit.
The transformation that the Bible talks about is the continual sanctification
through the Word and the power of the Spirit (Rom. 12:1,2; Phil. 1:6; 2:12,13;
3:20,21). Transformation is the product of our prayers for the courage
and the grace of the Holy Spirit; standing fast with the Word in battle;
not waivering, not compromising, not being overcome with fear, but steadfast
in the cause of the truth--TRUTH !--a word foreign to most of the revival
movement, both past and present. "
(3) Revival
and Revivalism: A Review Article by Terry Chrisope, 1997
This is a review of the book "Revival and Revivalism: The Making and
Marring of American Evangelicalism, 1750-1858" by Iain H. Murray, Banner
of Truth Trust, 1994. xxii + 455 pp. It is an exploration of the difference
between true revival and revivalism, from a Sounthern Baptist perspective.
(4) "Get
Your Own Revival!" by David Wilkerson, 1997
"My recommendation? Get your own revival! You will find it in Isaiah
58:10-11. You need no airline ticket, no travel. I have found the springs
of water that never fail! "And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt
be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail
not."
(5) Famine In The Landby
Rev. Mike, 1997
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine
in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing
the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from
the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word
of the LORD, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins
and young men faint for thirst." (Amos 8:11-13) There is a true famine
in much of the world today. Not a famine of physical food (though there
is plenty of that, too), but a famine of the HEARING of the Word of God.
Note that the prophesy in Amos above didn't say that there would be a lack
of the preaching of the Word. A famine of "hearing"!! (This link is
dead for now. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5349/famine.htm
Hoping the author will send me a copy.)
(6) Revival
by Christians For Truth, 1997
"Many supernatural signs and wonders have been observed and recorded
in revivals. However, visible manifestations are not necessarily a proof
that revival is genuine. Counterfeit manifestations are characteristics
of false revivals. Any movement which has physical manifestations as its
central focus, such as laughing, animal noises, 'jerks', etc., is immediately
suspect, especially if the above-mentioned characteristics of revival are
absent. Revival leaders, such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield,
warned against physical manifestations when they become the epicenter of
a movement and were detached from true repentance and the fruit of the
Spirit. A revival is, by its very nature, bound to be accompanied by emotional
excitement. However, once the idea gains acceptance that the degree of
the Spirit's work is to be measured by the strength of emotion or outward
manifestations, the Spirit of God is quenched and revival comes to an end."
(7) Revival
Or Apostacy? by Dave Hunt, 1997
"Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will
not believe." (John 4:48) To summarize, the scriptural warnings foretell
the very delusion we find in our day: 1) a false signs and wonders movement
led by many false prophets; 2) many being deceived through these seeming
miracles; 3) the rejection of the biblical teaching concerning apostasy
and the insistence that we are in the midst of, or at least are building
up to, the "greatest revival in the history of the church." Such is the
prevailing teaching today among charismatics and increasingly among evangelicals.
The promise of revival will be part of the last-days deception, Paul warns,
so beware. Instead, in the days preceding the Rapture there will be a great
apostasy, a falling away from the faith. Don't be part of it! "
(8) ELIJAH
- The man who could make it rain by Jacob Prasch, 1998
"The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah
was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might
not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its
fruit (James 5:16-18). Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. Elijah
was a man who could make it rain. The Holy Spirit, through this text, is
trying to tell us that, if he can do it, we can do it. We can make it rain.
But what does that mean? "
(9) The
Rest Of The Story by Dr. Orrel Steinkamp, The Plumbline,
Vol. 4, No. 3, 1999
"It is only by careful selection of Wesley's words at the outset
of his ministry that the proponents of the Toronto Blessing and Brownsville
River of God meetings can suggest that Wesley and others promoted similar
convulsions and paroxysms in their day as are currently being featured.
If we could ask Wesley today, without doubt he would probably refer to
the "great noise" in Toronto and Brownsville."
(10) RIVERS
OF LIVING WATER- The Biblical Doctrine of Renewal by Alan Morrison,
12/99
"The word ‘renewal’ is one of many which have been ‘hijacked’ from
their Biblical or lexical context and then spuriously reapplied to a tendentious
or sectarian cause. However, far from being confined to referring to a
weird display of extraordinary phenomena or sporadic outbursts of revivalism
or a religious movement in history, the Biblical doctrine of renewal embraces
the whole creation. In this study, we seek to overthrow the revisionism
which has beset this doctrine for the last few decades, while setting out
the true extent and magnificence of this unique work of Holy Spirit in
salvation, which is both individual and cosmic, particular and universal
in its outworkings."
(11) The
Myth Of Endtime Revival by Alan Morrison, 1999
"Contrary to the belief of many Christians, the Bible does not present
any evidence that the return of the Lord will be preceded by a Golden Age
of global revival or a largely 'Christianised' world — a fantasy which
has sometimes been called the 'latter-day glory of the saints'. It is most
important that we understand this from a biblical perspective rather than
from the systems and traditions of men, because the entire concept of a
future earthly Golden Age, as we shall later show, is fundamental to Jewish
and Gnostic belief-systems rather than to the Word of God. "
(12) A
Closer Look at Revival and Revival Meetings by Rev. Gill Rugh
"Revival meetings have been a part of Christianity in America since
the mid 1700s. Most Christians, however, are not familiar with the roots
of revival or the theology behind most revival meetings. That is
why Pastor Gil Rugh, in his booklet, A Closer Look at Revival and Revival
Meetings, looks at the history of revival in America and examines the theology
behind many of today’s revival meetings." This is a .pdf file.
(13) Sensitive
To Religion -- But Living Like The Devil
by A.W. Tozer, Renewed Day By Day, 1950
"In our day you can find plenty of men and women in all walks of
life who live like the devil while insisting that they are "sensitive"
to religion!"
(14) True
Revival or Apostasy? A Comparison Between the Modern "Toronto Blessing"
Style of Revivalism & Historic Revivals by Alan Morrison, Diakrisis,
12/00
"The mention of the "Toronto Blessing" today seems very outmoded.
For many, this is now history... times have moved on, and the fads of the
past are no longer with us. However, this would be a grave misjudgement.
True, people no longer speak of an actual "Toronto Blessing". But this
is because the "Toronto Blessing" has done its work. It was never intended,
in the plan of Satan, to be the 'be-all-and-end-all". It was designed to
be a major component in the shifting of mainstream evangelicalism in an
even more experiential and subjective direction than it had already travelled.
Masses of churches were affected, and still are to this day. Wherever the
Alpha Course goes, this style of "revivalism" goes with it. The overall
message is that personal psycho-religious experience takes precedence over
objective truth. A large part of evangelicalism had already been moving
in that direction for many years. All that the "Toronto Blessing" did was
to accelerate the process -- a process which is still developing and consolidating
to this day. The above article is the transcript of a talk originally given
in the U.K. in July 1994, entitled "The Toronto Blessing -- Is it Revival?"
The main headings are: 1) The Seven Hallmarks of Genuine Revival; 2) The
Handling of Physical and Emotional Phenomena During the History of Revivals;
3) The True Origins of the "Toronto Blessing" Style of "Revival"."
(15) The
Hope Of His Calling by Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, May 2001
"Yet not only Reconstructionists but most charismatics and many
evangelicals are still boasting that Christianity is growing stronger through
a last-days great revival and will eventually take over the world. Yes,
it will, but it will be a false "Christianity" headed by Antichrist in
partnership with the Vatican—the woman riding the beast of Revelation 17.
One would have to be both spiritually and physically blind not to see this
rapidly growing development, exactly as the Bible foretells it."
(16) Finding
Freedom From The Spirits Of "Revival" by Ed Tarkowski, 8/01
Two part series on getting freedom from demonic influences in the current
Third Wave "revival"
Part 1: When
Evil Perseveres
Part 2: Being Established
Through Repentence And The Word
(17) How
Can There Be Revival Without Repentance? by Sarah & Lynn Leslie,
Discernment Newsletter, 11/1/01
"During the last half of the 20th century, at the same
time period the apostle/prophets claim God was doing mighty restorations
and revivals, America aborted tens of millions of babies. Babies became
inconveniences, not blessings. There was a moral landslide into filth.
And, as we poignantly documented at the beginning of this article, Christians
slid right along with the rest of culture. Old doctrines that used to be
taught disappeared, or evolved to become more palatable for modern life.
The culture became de-Christianized, and in many cases outright pagan.
Christians gradually stopped acting as salt and light, by saturating the
culture with their positive effect of holy living and righteousness. Instead
they adopted the leaven of spiritual and political dominionism, which may
have assuaged their guilt, but did little to spread the gospel message.
There was no revival. There is no revival. There can be no revival without
repentance."
(18) Last
Days Fictitious Revival by Let Us Reason Ministries
"What would be the greatest deception pulled on the Christian Church
that was looking for God to do something great? Could there be such a close
substitute that was wholly false, yet made people think that it was the
real thing? Could it be that today, in the disguise of revival, we actually
have an apostasy. A radical concept if indeed this is true."
(19) The
Theology Of Charles Finney - A System Of Self-Reformation by Jay
E. Smith, Trinity International University, Trinity Journal, 1992
This essay proposes that Finney taught more about
morality than biblical theology. This is a .pdf file.
(20) The
Sickness Unto Death: Spiritual Drunkenness And False Revival by:
Pastor Bill Randles, 7/30/08
What we are seeing in the so?called Lakeland revival, did not come
like “a rushing mighty wind” out of heaven (cf. Acts 2:2). Rather it is
the direct result of several “streams “ that have converged over the last
twenty years. The roots of Todd Bentley’s experienced based revival, are
manifold. They include the Kansas City Prophets of the late 1980’s and
early nineties, John Wimber’s Vineyard movement, South African Evangelist
Rodney Howard Browne, the Toronto Blessing, and the subsequent Pensacola
Revival which led directly to Lakeland Florida and Todd Bentley. A major
common denominator, which runs through all of these streams, is an emphasis
on an experience called spiritual drunkenness! There can be no denying
that Bentley is a direct result of the so called Kansas City Prophets.
He himself defers directly to two of these prophets openly, in spite of
the moral collapses of both of them.
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