The Acts Of God in History
There have been certain special seasons in history during
which God has been at work with unusual demonstrations of His
power and His mercy. The Great Awakening in America was one such
period. Another was the Protestant Reformation. There have
actually been dozens of such times, when He has refreshed His
people in extraordinary ways, and extended His mercy to those who
have previously not known Him.
Until the twentieth century, these unusual episodes were
known as revivals, but the meaning of the word "revival" has
changed so that it is now often used to refer simply to the
conversions of multitudes of people to Christianity. While many
people often do come to the Lord during seasons of the
manifestation of God's power, this is really only one of a host
of key characteristics of genuine revival as it has been
understood historically.
A careful reading of the New Testament indicates that in the
first century there were certain special times at which there
were outbreaks of revival, or outpourings of the Holy Spirit.
One such time was on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in the
second chapter of Acts, in which we are told that when the early
believers were all of one accord in one place, God suddenly burst
upon the scene. To all outward appearances, this created bedlam,
but the semblance of chaos is in itself one of the hallmarks of
revivals and awakenings of this kind.
There were other periods of awakening in the first century,
particularly during Paul's second and third missionary journeys
as recorded in the book of Acts, then later, during Nero's
persecution of Christians in Rome, and finally in Ephesus during
some of the last few years of the life of the Apostle John.
Now what, exactly, characterizes these unusual seasons of
the manifestation of God's power? Well, many people are healed,
spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. There are
massive, dramatic reconciliations. God pours out a new
revelation of His forgiveness, and people respond by forgiving
one another for the deep wounds that they have inflicted upon one
another. People report that there is an unmistakable sense of
the presence of God in their midst.
But along with these things, there is also a tremendous
amount of controversy, persecution, and tribulation. Whenever
God is at work, it should be no surprise to us that the enemy is
also at work, attempting to interfere with whatever God is doing.
The apostle Paul certainly did not have an easy time of things.
Comparing himself to some false brethren he wrote, "Are they
servants of Christ? (I speak as if insane) I more so; in far more
labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number,
often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews
thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I
was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I
have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in
dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my
countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among
false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many
sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in
cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the
daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches" (II Cor.
11: 23-28).
Paul wrote these words from Macedonia to the Corinthians
toward the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:1). He
had just spent three years in Ephesus, during which time there
had been tremendous revival. This was during the mid-50s A.D.,
forty years before the great awakening in Ephesus under the
Apostle John, but as is often the case with revival, the earlier
outpouring paved the way for the outbreak of the later one in the
same place a few decades later.
It is the earlier revival in Ephesus under Paul that I would
like to examine in greater detail today, because it illustrates
many of the characteristics common to all revivals. One of the
things I want you to notice is that, in Acts 19, verses 8 and 9,
when Paul originally arrived at Ephesus, he spoke for three
months in the synagogue there, speaking out boldly, reasoning and
persuading the people about the kingdom of God.
But this only lasted three months. Why is this? Well, some
of the people there were becoming hardened and disobedient,
speaking evil of the Way of Christianity before the multitude, so
Paul withdrew from the synagogue, took the disciples with him and
began speaking daily in the school of Tyrannus.
The same scenario has been repeated many times over whenever
there has been revival. When revival hits, be prepared for
controversy and division. This is part and parcel of revival.
To cite just one of many examples, George Whitefield was severely
opposed when he was raised up of God to spread revival during the
Great Awakening. On his second visit to New England in 1744,
Harvard and Yale both published "testimonies" against him,
accusing him of approving of various disorders, causing
divisions, and deluding people about an orphanage for which he
was collecting money, although this last charge was later proven
to be unfounded. In June of 1745, the General Association of
Connecticut voted that he not be admitted to the pulpits of any
of the Congregational churches, and that the people not be
permitted to attend his meetings.
George Whitefield therefore had to go outside the camp, and
preach outside of the respected churches of his day, bearing the
reproach of Christ, as it says in Hebrews 13: 12 and 13. Revival
is never respectable. Do not expect that you will gain a
favorable reputation by being part of a revival or an awakening;
it will never happen. Nor did it happen for the apostle Paul.
The passage in Acts that we have been examining is very
instructive, because, not only does it demonstrate that revival
brings controversy and reproach, but it also illustrates the
problem of new wine in old wineskins. In this case, the old
wineskin was Judaism. The new wine was Christianity, and the old
wineskin could not contain the new wine--it began leaking out all
over the place, and this is what was happening with Paul and his
fellow Christians in Ephesus when they had to leave the synagogue.
The same problem has presented itself whenever there is a
new outbreak of revival. Old institutional forms begin to seem
inadequate, and superficial profession of faith and church
membership pale in significance. Instead, there is an emphasis
upon spiritual life, of which those things are merely tokens. As
a consequence of revival or awakening, new denominations are
often birthed. Lutheranism arose from Roman Catholicism in this
way during the Protestant Reformation. The Great Awakening in
America, which was known as the Evangelical Awakening in England,
eventually brought about the rise of Methodism. The Second
Evangelical Awakening at the beginning of the nineteenth century
brought to birth the Disciples of Christ. The awakening of 1857-
59 brought about the various Holiness denominations, while the
Azusa Street revival of the early twentieth century resulted in
the rise of the Pentecostal denominations.
Prior to the advent of Protestantism, revival tended to
bring about the establishment of new monastic orders within the
Roman Catholic Church. It seems that whenever there is a fresh
move of God's Spirit, existing structures are unable to contain
those who are touched by it.
But now, let's return to Acts 19 and see what else happens
during times of revival. Although according to verse 9, people
were speaking evil of the Way and there was division as a result,
we see in verses 11 and 12 that God was performing extraordinary
miracles. Here is another hallmark of revival. There are
remarkable demonstrations of the power of God.
One of the most remarkable modern-day stories of revival
concerns Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880), who began
pastoring a Lutheran church in Moetlingen, Germany in 1838.
Within a few years, a young girl in his church named Gottlieben
Dittus was diagnosed by physicians as "demon-possessed." She had
what people said was a strange nervous disorder, and many psychic
phenomena were taking place in her home. Everyone in her family
and in the village seemed to knew about these things, and
finally, one of the doctors came to Blumhardt and asked him, "Is
there no pastor in this village who can pray? I can do nothing
here."
Blumhardt wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with this,
but because of pressure from his congregation, he felt compelled
to pray after this doctor confronted him. The resulting
spiritual battle lasted two years, and during this time,
Blumhardt was neglecting his pastoral work. He was becoming
tense and exhausted, and people began to think that he was about
ready to collapse, mentally and physically.
But then, something happened unexpectedly. Gottlieben's
sister, who was in the room, gave a loud, long cry in a strange
voice, "Jesus is Victor," and suddenly, this girl was delivered.
On the very same day, many people in the village reported hearing
the whirring of wings and cries of despair, "Into the abyss, into
the abyss, woe oh woe, we must go into the abyss!"
These events transformed the whole village. There was a
tremendous revival in which lives were transformed, broken
marriages were restored, enemies were reconciled, and people
began to experience physical healings.
Blumhardt was more surprised by this than anyone. Prior to
this time, as a matter of course, he had been laying his hands
upon various members of his Lutheran church for absolution. But
suddenly, people were experiencing healings when he was doing
this. His preaching began to take on a new depth, and people
started to come from all over Germany to hear him preach. He had
to conduct five services every Sunday, and his little church was
filled to capacity each time, with people standing outside up to
a radius of up to an entire kilometer. At one point, the German
emperor himself came to find out what was going on in this little
town.
The story of the Moetlingen awakening indicates to us that
deliverance from demonic spirits is also a key element of
revival, and we see this clearly in the passage before us. The
seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were so amazed that
evil spirits were departing from people there that they, also,
tried to cast them out, only to learn that without the anointing
of God, this can be a dangerous practice. But the very fact
there were people attempting to imitate Paul and the other
disciples in this regard indicates that there must have been some
dramatic deliverances in Ephesus at that time. So much was this
the case that we read in verse 17 that "this became known to all,
both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus."
This became known to all. That's how it is with revival.
Everybody seems to find out about it. At the outset, nothing is
organized. There is no need for advertizing except by word of
mouth. It usually spreads very rapidly and easily.
But then in verse 17, we are told that "fear fell upon them
all." The fear of God which brings about genuine repentance is
also an important component of revival. During the Great
Awakening, a dramatic incident occurred at a meeting in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The chimney of the house next door
caught fire. The flames of the fire began to flash on the
windows of the meetinghouse, and people fell down in fear, crying
"The Lord is coming to judge us!" After the cause of the fire
had been explained, they continued to be alarmed, knowing that if
they were so unprepared for judgment, then they were in great
need of repentance. Afterward, when the minister visited these
people at their homes, he found almost every one of them
distressed. He was called into one house after another and in
each case he was begged not to leave until he had prayed for the
person with whom he was visiting until he or she came to an
assurance of salvation through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
So there is a great fear of God during times of revival, but
the name of the Lord Jesus is magnified, and people are brought
to repentance. In verse 19 we read, "Many also of those who had
believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices."
Public confession has always been integral to revival. The
February 20, 1950 issue of LIFE MAGAZINE (pp. 40-41) carried an
article entitled "College Revival Becomes Confession Marathon,"
describing the Wheaton College revival, which began on February 8
of that year when one of the students asked V. Raymond Edman, the
president of the college, if he could have a few minutes in the
evening chapel service to tell the students how God had forgiven
his sin and given him victory in his life. This student was
given permission to do so, and that evening, after he was
finished, other students also rose and spoke. By the time they
had finished, several others stood up to await their turn, and
within a short time, sixty people were standing. Testimonies
continued into the night and throughout the following day, and
the revival at Wheaton College soon became a national news item.
Nineteen hundred years previously in Ephesus, after public
confession of sin, "many of those who practiced magic brought
their books together and began burning them in the sight of all;
and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand
pieces of silver" (Acts 19:19). Here is an indication of
complete dedication to the will of God, even at tremendous
personal expense. Expensive books on magic were not simply sold
or given away; they were destroyed to ensure that no one else
would put them to use. Something similar happened under the
ministry of Girolamo Savonarolla in Florence, Italy, in 1496,
when he inspired the burning of the vanities, and the people made
a great bonfire of their gambling equipment, cosmetics, false
hair, and pornographic books.
Something similar took place at a March 19, 1995 service at
Wheaton College which lasted from 7:30 pm to 6:00 am, where, once
again, hundreds of students lined up to confess sins and pray for
one another. This time, they filled five large garbage bags full
of bottles of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, pornography, and secular
music taken from their dorm rooms as part of their commitment to
God.
But to return to the passage under consideration we are told
at its conclusion that, "the word of the Lord was growing
mightily and prevailing" (Acts 19:20). This is exactly what
happens during revival. The word of God grows mightily and
prevails. This is confirmed in a later section of the book of
Acts (20:17-38), which provides us with one last look what had
happened at Ephesus. Paul's travels had taken him back to nearby
Miletus, where he fetched from Ephesus the elders of the church
that he had established there. He reminded them of what had
taken place in that city, saying, "I did not shrink from
declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you
publicly and from house to house" (Acts 20:20). Not only in the
school of Tyrannus, but then, also in various private homes, Paul
went, "solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance
toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," "preaching the
kingdom," and not shrinking from declaring to the people the
whole counsel of God (Acts 20:21,25, 27).
During times of revival, the Word of God is preached in its
fullness, accompanied with a new hunger on the part of the
hearers, not only to hear from God, but to act accordingly,
holding back nothing. May God in His grace grant us the ability
to commit ourselves fully to Him, as He sweeps through the world
once again with awesome manifestations of His glory and power.
Richard M. Riss
Middlesex Presbyterian Church, Middlesex, N.J., Feb. 22, 1998