The 3 Greatest Revivals of the 20th Century

[MadHermit]

(1) One of the most spectacular revivals ever was the famous Welsh revival of 1904-06. There were 100,000 converts in just 4 months. Churches were packed nightly and the unstructured services could last until 4 in the morning. Evan Roberts was the revival's central figure. He was basically an uneducated coal miner and was considered emotionally unstable by ministers who encountered him. Yet the fact that he was a passionate prayer warrior seems to be the key to why God chose him to lead the revival. I encourage you to watch the various excerpts in the posted video:

welsh revival youtube - Bing video

(2) The Welsh Revival spread to the Azusa St. revival of 1908 and that revival sparked modern Pentecostalism. An African American, William Seymour, was the central figure in that revival, which initially featured minorities and socially marginalized people. Seymour is the most spirituallly influential religious African American figure ever, and yet, few Americans have even heard of him! Here is an awesome documentary on that revival:

azusa street revival documentary - Bing video

(3) The Hebrides Revival (1952-54) was the 3rd great 20th century revival. The narrator of the posted video is Duncan Campbell, the central figure of that revival. I knw a retired pastor, whose blind father used to pray for revival with Duncan Campbell in Scotland. What is striking about this is that one of the 2 infirmed elderly Smith sisters, who catalyzed the revival by their agitation for long and regular prayer meetings, was also blind. I found this video's narration awesome and spell-binding:

the Hebrides revival documentary - Bing video

 

[amadeus2]

Thank you for sharing this.
Glory to God!

 

[MadHermit]

Just imagine how "thick" with the presence of the Holy Spirit the atmosphere in the Welsh revival must have been to inspire the unchurched to stay in church services until 4 AM, even though they then had to report to work, despite their lack of sleep! Many of the services had no structure or order of worship. They were led by the Spirit--singing in the Spirit, confessions, testimonies, etc. all night long! In one case, a would-be debunker came to the front and demanded a hearing, but as soon as he reached the altar area, he was slain in the Spirit and gloriously saved! It has been noted that in real revivals the Holy Spirit falls primarily on the unchurched rather than on the churched.

 

[JesusIs4Me]

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Proverbs 25:26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring. 27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. 28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

1 Corinthians 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

John 10:1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber...… 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Galatians 4:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.....26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

 

[MadHermit]

There is no greater sign of spiritual deadness than an unwillingness to study how ordinary prayer warriors brought unprecedented mass revivals to their nations. You'd think believers would long to know their prayer and faith secrets in order to pay the price to bring another much needed great revival to our land. The human agents of the greatest mass revivals each had glaring weaknesses. Evan Roberts of Wales was an uneducated and emotionally unstable coal miner. Yet his heart on fire prompted him to claim 100,000 unchurched Welsh converts in 4 months and God granted his visionary prediction! 2 elderly women in their late eighties (the Smith sisters), one blind and the other crippled, spent many hours praying in the great Hebrides revival and then God's convicting power was suddenly everywhere on these islands with no advertising or fanfare and thousands fled their abodes into the streets, desperate to find God! William Seymour was the humble son of a Black slave and had just been fired from his pastorate in his first week. But his long fasting and prayer vigils inspired a small group of Black prayer warriors and their faith brought in the great Azusa Street revival which has ultimately led to 600 million charismatic and Pentecostal converts. In that revival, outsiders called the fire department because they misunderstood the orange manifestation of Holy Spirit fire shining through the windows. The upstairs area was quickly full of the crutches discarded by cripples who were healed. The blind regained their sight and one woman could suddenly play worship music on the piano, even though she had never received a lesson.

What made these great revivals so unique was that the Holy Spirit fell not primarily on believers, but on unchurched unbelievers. The atmosphere everywhere was so electrified by the Spirit's convicting presence that the unsaved were glad to worship in churches until the late hours of the morning! So readers, if you can't be bothered watching the posted videos on how God sparked such epic revivals, you should ask yourself whether you actually have little interest in receiving more of God in your life.

 

[Quantrill]

Another great revival of the 20th century, which is often overlooked, is the Jesus Movement of the late 1960's and 70's. Right in the middle of the revolution where all authority was questioned. God was declared dead. Man was free to love and live hard to all the pleasures he could obtain. Sex, drugs, alcohol. Much of which was centered on the college campuses.

But the Spirit of God sent a revival to many caught up in this debauchery. And He went after those in these colleges. See the record of the Asbury college revival. The Jesus movement began. The people, former people of the drug culture, were called Jesus Freaks. They may have been unlearned in many areas but they knew Jesus and were willing to stand on street corners and tell all who passed by.

The revival itself did not last, but it did have profound affect on many people. And, what revival does last. It is only for a brief time. There are many believers alive today who owe their salvation to that movement of the Holy Spirit.

Quantrill

 

[Dave M]

look forward to checking these out @MadHermit thanks for posting

 

[JesusIs4Me]

There is no greater sign of spiritual deadness than an unwillingness to study how ordinary prayer warriors brought unprecedented mass revivals to their nations. You'd think believers would long to know their prayer and faith secrets in order to pay the price to bring another much needed great revival to our land. The human agents of the greatest mass revivals each had glaring weaknesses. Evan Roberts of Wales was an uneducated and emotionally unstable coal miner. Yet his heart on fire prompted him to claim 100,000 unchurched Welsh converts in 4 months and God granted his visionary prediction! 2 elderly women in their late eighties (the Smith sisters), one blind and the other crippled, spent many hours praying in the great Hebrides revival and then God's convicting power was suddenly everywhere on these islands with no advertising or fanfare and thousands fled their abodes into the streets, desperate to find God! William Seymour was the humble son of a Black slave and had just been fired from his pastorate in his first week. But his long fasting and prayer vigils inspired a small group of Black prayer warriors and their faith brought in the great Azusa Street revival which has ultimately led to 600 million charismatic and Pentecostal converts. In that revival, outsiders called the fire department because they misunderstood the orange manifestation of Holy Spirit fire shining through the windows. The upstairs area was quickly full of the crutches discarded by cripples who were healed. The blind regained their sight and one woman could suddenly play worship music on the piano, even though she had never received a lesson.

What made these great revivals so unique was that the Holy Spirit fell not primarily on believers, but on unchurched unbelievers. The atmosphere everywhere was so electrified by the Spirit's convicting presence that the unsaved were glad to worship in churches until the late hours of the morning! So readers, if you can't be bothered watching the posted videos on how God sparked such epic revivals, you should ask yourself whether you actually have little interest in receiving more of God in your life.

A local church I visited at one time made an effort to make sure every one in attendance was a believer in Jesus Christ before they began their service of focusing on the Holy Spirit. Apparently, the church had been doing tongues and other signs that it became a surprise that those engaging and experiencing in that same supernatural phenomenon were not believers in Jesus Christ.

If that does not raise any red flags for you, then I can understand that when you said the Holy Spirit fell on unchurched unbelievers for why you seem to think unbelievers can receive the "Holy Spirit" without ever believing in Jesus Christ, but I will maintain that was not the Holy Spirit when He will only be sent by the Father when a believer comes to and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that God raised Him from the dead. Being always Spirit-filled is a testimony of God in us that we are His as saved by Jesus Christ and thus always saved as His. It is what we build on that foundation that will ne judged and speaking for that phenomenon that saved believers receive apart from salvation is a work that denies Him as in us since we have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[MadHermit]

A local church I visited at one time made an effort to make sure every one in attendance was a believer in Jesus Christ before they began their service of focusing on the Holy Spirit. Apparently, the church had been doing tongues and other signs that it became a surprise that those engaging and experiencing in that same supernatural phenomenon were not believers in Jesus Christ.

If that does not raise any red flags for you, then I can understand that when you said the Holy Spirit fell on unchurched unbelievers for why you seem to think unbelievers can receive the "Holy Spirit" without ever believing in Jesus Christ, but I will maintain that was not the Holy Spirit when He will only be sent by the Father when a believer comes to and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that God raised Him from the dead.

Hear these 2 points in response:
(1) You are confusing the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit with the subsequent operation of spiritual gifts. If you had bothered to watch the videos, you'd realize that in both the Welsh (1904-06) and Hebrides (1949-1952) Revivals, the Holy Spirit fell on them to convict them of their sin and to create a deep hunger for God, while in the Azusa Street revival, global Pentecostalism was birthed among Christians of various denominations as the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in a Spirit baptism evidenced by speaking in tongues and the operation of the gift of divine healing. There was no speaking in tongues during the Welsh and Hebrides Revivals, just thousands getting saved.

(2) In Acts 1044-48 the Holy Spirit falls on "many" pagans, including the Roman centurion Cornelius who is a "pagan "godfearer," as Peter tells them the story of Jesus, and these pagans are spontaneously inspired to speak in tongues. They are baptized only after this Spirit outpouring is witnessed.