By Thomas Williamson
3131 S. Archer Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60608
If you talk to 10 different Christians, you will get 10
different definitions of revival.
In the minds of some, revival is associated with such ecstatic
manifestations as speaking in tongues, holy laughter, animal brayings,
and people keeling over and being "slain in the spirit"
during a church service.
Others associate revival with such commotions as ecumenical stadium
rallies, faith healing meetings and Christian rock concerts. Others,
of a different way of thinking, associate revival with "getting
people down the aisle," obtaining quickie professions of
faith, or running buses and bringing a lot of children to Sunday
School.
Some see revival as being focused mainly on outreach to unbelievers,
while others emphasize the need to get Christians right with God
first before we can have an effective impact on the heathen.
Some seek a great end-times revival as a sign of the Second Coming.
Others say that revival is "not for today" and that
it is wrong to try to have revival until after the Rapture, after
the Holy Spirit and all true churches and believers have been
removed from the planet.
Everyone has a different agenda, and will tend to see the concept
of revival in terms of whatever advances his agenda. Is it possible
to develop a Bible-based theology of revival?
The word "Revival" does not appear in the King James
Version of the Bible. The words "revive," "revived"
and "reviving" appear on a few occasions.
Psalm 85:6 says, "Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy
people may rejoice in thee?" Here we have a clue - true revival
results in God's people rejoicing in Him. We have a similar concept
in Nehemiah 8 where revival resulted in God's people rejoicing:
"And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink and
to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood
the words that were declared unto them." (Nehemiah 8:12).
True revival results in people experiencing God's mercy and salvation,
Psalm 85:7 - "Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy
salvation."
True revival, as recorded in the Book of Acts, results in numerical
growth for the Lord's churches. When a lot of people get emotionally
worked up, make professions of faith but never show up in the
church, let alone become faithful members of the church, this
does not qualify as scriptural revival.
Numbers are great if the Lord gives the increase, but there will
be times when the faithful proclamation of the Word results, at
least for a time, in a loss of numbers: "From that time many
of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him [Christ]."
John 6:66.
On occasion, revival may temporarily result in a decline in membership,
as those who are false believers are winnowed out of the membership.
The revival in Acts 5 resulted in at least 2 members lost due
to premature death (Ananias and Sapphira), and as a result, "Great
fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these
things. . . . And of the rest durst no man join himself to them."
(Acts 5:11, 13).
When people are affected by true revival, their lives will be
changed, like Zacchaeus, who said, "Behold, Lord, the half
of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing
from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold."
(Luke 18:9). Revived folks will seek out those that they have
wronged, and get things right.
True revival results in deeper Bible study and devotion to sound
doctrine: "They received the word with all readiness of mind,
and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
(Acts 17:11). Revival should be based on the preserved Word of
God, not on a subjective emotional feeling or the hysteria of
mass movements and crowd psychology.
True revival creates an impact that will be felt in the community,
beyond the walls of the church: "These that have turned the
world upside down are come hither also." (Acts 17:6).
True revival is a great thing, but we are not to compromise or
cut corners in order to bring about revival: "And if a man
also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive
lawfully." (2 Timothy 2:5).
True revival is for today. "Now is the accepted time: behold,
now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2). Nowhere
does the Bible say we have to wait to get into the next dispensation
before we can have revival.
We must wait upon the Holy Spirit and on the sovereignty of God
as we seek true revival: "The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence
it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
of the Spirit." (John 3:8)
It is hoped that these brief, inadequate, preliminary notes on
the subject of revival will give us some idea of the meaning of
true revival, and will encourage us to seek revival in our congregations
and personal lives.
Welsh Revival of 1859
We can get some helpful insight into the nature of revival, by
reading about the great revivals of past ages. Caution must be
exercised in such a historical study of revivals. Oftentimes,
godly Christian ministers who were living in the midst of these
past revivals were themselves not sure whether these works were
of God or worthy of support, so it is difficult for us to discern,
after the passage of many years, to what extent these revivals
were of the Spirit as opposed to being of the flesh.
Not all doctrines or practices that came out of times of revival
are to be endorsed or accepted. The Kentucky revivals of 1801
were notorious for the bizarre physical manifestations that they
produced, such as jerks, faintings and animal noises. Many of
the evangelists of that time were opposed to such strange practices
and did what they could to suppress them.
Some revivals have emphasized and produced a spirit of ecumenical
cooperation between the various denominations. While I am all
in favor of brotherly love, and even a certain measure of cooperation,
between truly born-again Christians of all denominations, I am
not in favor of any evangelistic program that sends converts to
"churches" or religious societies with significant differences
in doctrine or practice, such as requirements for Christians to
speak in tongues, have their infants baptized, etc.
I certainly do not endorse "crusades" or "festivals"
where liberal and Roman Catholic clergymen are part of the revival
committees and where converts are sent to their churches. I see
no need for Baptists to devote their time and treasure to building
up false churches where converts will not be taught the Word of
God nor be offered scriptural baptism.
So, as we study the historic revivals of past ages, we must do
so with a discerning spirit, recognizing that God works through
imperfect people and imperfect congregations, and that we are
not necessarily expected to adopt and imitate all the false practices
and compromises that God has graciously overruled for His glory
in times past.
The primary source for information on the Welsh Revival of 1859
is the book "The Welsh Revival - Its Origin and Development,"
written in 1860 by Thomas Phillips.
One of the points made in this book is that the Welsh Revival
was not based on the popularity or forceful personality of any
particular celebrity preacher. Two preachers, Humphrey Jones and
David Morgan, are named as being used of God, but curiously, as
of 1860, Jones had dropped out of revival work and church attendance
for reasons that are not clear. No big-name preachers were involved
in the revival - the work appears to be credited mainly to the
prayers and labors of ordinary Christian laymen and faithful ministers,
and above all, to the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.
"It can hardly be said that this movement has any acknowledged
leaders - much less can we attach to it the name of men distinguished
for learning, eloquence, or eminent pulpit talents. There are
such men in the principality, but the revival did not originate
with them. The individuals who have been chiefly instrumental
in the commencement and spread of the work amongst the various
sections of the Christian Church, and throughout the various counties,
have been men more distinguished for their piety, and love for
God, and compassion for souls, than for high attainments and intellectual
powers. This revival has had no Luther or Calvin, Whitefield or
Wesley, Rowlands or Harries; and the absence of great names, while
at the same time a great and mighty spiritual work has been done,
will the more effectually secure the glory to Him who alone giveth
the increase."
Remarks by preachers involved in the revival reveal a reliance
on the Providence of God to bring about revival, as well as a
concern that not all effects and practices of the revival be uncritically
accepted. A Wesleyan minister wrote: "I prefer a revival
coming, as it were, spontaneously from the Divine blessing attending
the regular means of grace, to that produced by irregular and
questionable proceedings. I dread experiments to get up a revival,
and anything that tends to supersede the ordinances of God. We
should certainly acknowledge the hand of God in the recent revival,
as clearly displayed in the effects produced; but we should also
mark for our future guidance, and for warning to others, the evils
and abuses which have appeared, through the cunning of Satan and
the infirmity of human nature."
The revival work was based on prayer and the preaching of God's
word, not on entertainment evangelism or the development of a
personality cult centered around a big-name preacher. Humphrey
Jones stated, "I try to aim at two things in studying and
preaching: one is, not to say anything to show off myself; another
is, not to say anything to amuse the people." This is a policy
that is quite a contrast to that of some modern preachers and
evangelistswho warm up the crowd with a Jay Leno-style comedy
routine and a lengthy string of heroics and soul-winning anecdotes
designed to exalt and brag upon the preacher.
The Revival arose out of a generally positive and optimistic view
of the prospects for Christian work and advance, which regarded
the Kingdom of God as a present reality, not something that must
await Christ's Second Coming: "While the principles of evil
and selfishness in a variety of forms are more active now than
at any former period in the world's history, it is very gratifying
to see that God has at the same time put it into the heart of
His own people to be more zealous and active in their efforts
to extend His Kingdom. Every new discovery in science is pressed
into this service. The DIVINE WORD, translated into nearly all
languages, is now multiplied to an unprecedented extent, and with
incredible rapidity circulated throughout the habitable globe."
This book emphasizes numbers, giving detailed reports on statistics
of the revival. But these statistics are on the number of additions
to the churches, not the number of people making professions,
or "walking the aisle." In 1859 revival was seen and
reported in terms of the number of people actually joining the
churches.
New converts were eager not only to attend the church services
and prayer meetings, but to apply for membership in the church.
These days we have a lot of floaters and free spirits who, over
a period of many years, choose not to settle down and join any
one church. While we must be patient with such folk, we cannot
regard their proliferation, in whatever numbers, as an evidence
of true God-given revival.
Nowadays the ecumenical revivalists will report on fantastic numbers
of people "walking the aisles" but if you inquire further,
it turns out that very, very few of these folks ever become members
of any kind of church. In many cases, no one, including the "converts"
themselves, knows why they came forward. Sometimes they are asked
to come forward in order to renew the baptismal vows made on their
behalf at the time of their infant baptism. Most of the time there
is no change in their manner of life, they do not join or even
visit any church, and there is no evidence of salvation.
The Welsh Revival was not like that - not only were the lives
of the converts visibly changed, but entire communities were changed
for the better as drunkards and infidels were converted and left
the taverns to spend their time in church instead.
A Welsh newspaper reported that "I have gathered from inquiry
that not one person in every 50 of those who have assumed a profession
of religion within the last 4 to 6 months, has relapsed into the
world." These days it is often the opposite - we run evangelistic
campaigns in which fewer than one in 50 who make professions of
faith can be found in church one year later, and we call that
"revival."
Nowadays there is little concern for the possibility of manipulating
sinners into making false professions of faith. During the Welsh
Revival, that was a great concern: "We have our fears lest
the work should prove superficial, and that we are bringing men
into the visible Church of Christ who have not been convinced
of sin, and converted by the Spirit of God. Most of us, however,
have lost these fears, and we cannot avoid coming to the conclusion
that God is at work, saving the souls of men. We see that something
awfully strong takes hold of the minds of the people. . . . they
feel compelled to return again, and offer themselves as candidates
for admission into the Church." That is different from today's
evangelism, where sinners are induced to recite a rote prayer,
and then told "see you in heaven" and not followed up
on again.
The Welsh preachers were not satisfied with a mere temporary emotional
stirring of interest with no measurable lasting results. "This
religious movement is somewhat different from the former revivals
with which Wales has been favoured. We have had no loud exhibition
of feeling, but rather a strong current of inward emotions, finding
vent in floods of tears. I hope it is not a transient thing, but,
on the contrary, that this ‘Gad' will be followed by a ‘troop.'
There is already a considerable change in the aspect of the neighborhoods
where the revival has prevailed. The temperance movement gathers
strength, and some of the public-houses [taverns] are gasping
for breath, as though they were in the last struggle."
The Welsh Revival appears to have taken place without the need
for anyone being "slain in the spirit" or similar emotionalistic
hysterics. "We have no cases of physical prostration; persons
are not struck to the ground here, as in Ireland and Scotland;
but we have many cases of very sudden and powerful changes in
those who have discovered their lost state."
There are many accounts of sinners delivered from drunkenness
and other gross sins: "The village of Maentwrog . . . was
notorious for drunkenness and revelry, Sabbath-breaking and swearing,
etc. You could hear the school children in passing, when playing
together, using the foul language learnt of their parents at home,
and that often with oaths and curses; but now these children hold
prayer-meetings together. Where there is a group of houses, they
assemble at one of them, and hold meetings, at which they read,
sing and pray together, sometimes for hours. Young men, from 15
to 20 years old, are full of fire; they often meet to pray together
in private houses after the public prayer-meeting is over . .
. " The ages from 15 to 20 are when most of our young people
leave the fundamentalist churches today, never to be seen again.
True revival would change that.
The Welsh Revival was expected to have a social impact, but the
definition of "social gospel" back then was different
from what it is now. Nowadays the churches are obsessed with such
phony issues as global warming, sanctuary for illegal aliens,
and increased welfare spending for the lazy. But the Welsh saw
social impact in totally different terms: "If the revival
now in the country is of God, it will be followed by such effects
as will prove it such; the public-houses will become less numerous
than our chapels; the debts remaining on our places of worship
will be wiped away; and day-schools will be established to instruct
the ignorant. In a word, if it is a religious revival, it will
also be a social revival."
Finally, the Welsh Revival produced a spirit of harmony among
Christians, and an end to "Worship Wars." "The
old hymns are more appreciated than ever, and some of the anthems
and tunes recently introduced are put aside for the present, in
order to give place to such as can be used by the whole congregation."