Christian Revival – The Promise and Meaning of a Spiritual Awakening
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell in power and transformed Jesus’ disciples. We now identify this as the first revival of the Apostolic age.
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
– Acts 2:1-4
This outpouring of God’s Spirit was the beginning of a spiritual awakening which has swept the world. It will not stop until one of the last great revivals prophesied in Scripture takes place, during the end times.
Behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne…Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from?” …So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”
– Revelation 7:9-17
What then is revival? When we speak of revival, we are not talking about a group of special evangelist meetings, but of a sovereign move of God, as seen in the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905. A nation was transformed in a matter of months during the Welsh Revival. A heavenly influence shook thousands of unsaved people, all at one time to get right with God. The pubs emptied, the workplace was ablaze with talk about salvation and the chapels, churches and mission halls overflowed with sinners wanting to get saved.
Depending on your translation, the Bible only mentions the word ‘Revival’ once, yet the promise of Christian revival is found throughout Scripture. Christian revival or a spiritual awakening as it is sometimes called, is an amazing outpouring of the Holy Spirit which revives the Church and brings the unsaved to Christ.
The word ‘Revival’ is like the word ‘Trinity.’ The word ‘Trinity’ is not in the Bible, yet it is used to explain the biblical concept of the unity of the Godhead – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The word ‘Revival’ is similar; it may not be mentioned in the Bible many times, yet it is used to explain the amazing results of an outpouring of the Spirit of God.
The demonic spirit of unbelief wants Christians to believe the days of revival are behind us. That’s unbelief in action. It’s also a denial of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit worldwide. Revival is happening now, all over the world. The globe is bigger than your street or nation. Stand back and give thanks that God is moving all over the world! Lord send revival and start the work in me!
The promise of a great spiritual awakening in the Bible is locked into the end times. It reveals that from the first outpouring of His Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, this move of the Holy Spirit will continue – where He is welcome – until the day the sun is turned to darkness and the moon to blood. This is the ‘Day of the Lord.’ There is no end to this promise until the end time prophecies are fulfilled.
“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord”
– Joel 2:28-31
By Mathew Backholer.
A National Call for Prayer…This is what the Sovereign Lord says to His Church in the United Kingdom of Great Britain – GO
Mathew Backholer is a revival historian, author and TV presenter. If you want to know more, you can find his books or watch his programmes on streaming services, etc.
