|
||||||||
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" Jer 13:23
|
||||||||
Does God want you to be rich?
September 10, 2006 (Time.com In support of this prediction, he contrasts the fleeting pleasures of today with the promise of eternity: "For what profit is it to a man," he asks, "if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" For several decades, a philosophy has been percolating in the 10 million-strong Pentecostal wing of Christianity that seems to turn the Gospels' passage on its head. Certainly, it allows, Christians should keep one eye on heaven. But the new good news is that God doesn't want us to wait. Known (or vilified) under a variety of names -- Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, Prosperity Theology -- its emphasis is on God's promised generosity in this life. In a nutshell, it suggests that a God who loves you does not want you to be broke. Its signature verse could be John 10:10: "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." In a Time poll, 17 percent of Christians surveyed said they considered themselves part of such a movement, while a full 61 percent believed that God wants people to be prosperous. "Prosperity" first blazed to public attention as the driveshaft in the moneymaking machine that was 1980s televangelism and faded from mainstream view with the Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals. Of the four biggest megachurches in the country, three -- Joel Osteen's Lakewood in Houston; T.D. Jakes' Potter's House in south Dallas; and Creflo Dollar's World Changers in Atlanta -- are Prosperity or Prosperity Lite pulpits (although Jakes' ministry has many more facets). While they don't exclusively teach that God's riches want to be in believers' wallets, it is a key part of their doctrine. And propelled by Osteen's 4 million-selling book, Your Best Life Now, the belief has swept beyond its Pentecostal base into more buttoned-down evangelical churches, and even into congregations in the more liberal Mainline. It is taught in hundreds of non-Pentecostal Bible studies. One Pennsylvania Lutheran pastor even made it the basis for a sermon series for Lent, when Christians usually meditate on why Jesus was having His Worst Life Then. The movement's renaissance has infuriated a number of prominent pastors, theologians and commentators. Fellow megapastor Rick Warren, whose book The Purpose Driven Life has outsold Osteen's by a ratio of 7 to 1, finds the very basis of Prosperity laughable. "This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy?" he snorts. "There is a word for that: baloney. It's creating a false idol. You don't measure your self-worth by your net worth. I can show you millions of faithful followers of Christ who live in poverty. Why isn't everyone in the church a millionaire?" The brickbats -- both theological and practical (who really gets rich from this?) --come especially thick from Evangelicals like Warren. Evangelicalism is more prominent and influential than ever before. Yet the movement, which has never had a robust theology of money, finds an aggressive philosophy advancing within its ranks that many of its leaders regard as simplistic, possibly heretical and certainly embarrassing. Prosperity's defenders claim to be able to match their critics chapter and verse. They caution against broad-brushing a wide spectrum that ranges from pastors who crassly solicit sky's-the-limit financial offerings from their congregations to those whose services tend more toward God-fueled self-help. Advocates note Prosperity's racial diversity -- a welcome exception to the American norm -- and point out that some Prosperity churches engage in significant charity. And they see in it a happy corrective for Christians who are more used to being chastened for their sins than celebrated as God's children. "Who would want to get in on something where you're miserable, poor, broke and ugly and you just have to muddle through until you get to heaven?" asks Joyce Meyer, a popular television preacher and author often lumped in the Prosperity Lite camp. "I believe God wants to give us nice things." If nothing else, Meyer and other new-breed preachers broach a neglected topic that should really be a staple of Sunday messages: Does God want you to be rich? The Harry Potter Books http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/hp001.cfm As you begin this study of the Harry Potter books, we feel there are some things about which you should be aware. Therefore, we have put together this little primer you should read and understand before you go any further. The craze over Harry Potter is absolutely bizarre. Consider these statistics, provided by a retail manufacturer who has just obtained the Harry Potter license for their line. "At this time, seven books are planned, one for each year Harry attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 28 million books are in circulation worldwide, 19.1 million books in the U.S. alone. As of February, 2000, all three Harry Potter books appeared in the top ten of the New York Times best seller list -- an unprecedented occurrence for children's books. The Harry Potter books have a world wide appeal and have already been published in 115 countries and in 28 languages. Warner Bros. is planning to release the first Harry Potter movie based on book number one, Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone, in Summer, 2001." These statistics are unbelievable, especially when you consider the story that J.K. Rowling, the author, was nearly bankrupt with a little girl to raise just a few short years ago. This story would be the epitome of "rags to riches", except for the fact that the story line of her Harry Potter creation features the most sophisticated, the most accurate, depiction of advanced Witchcraft imaginable. Rowling clearly knows her Witchcraft, and a lot of it is obscure, secret Witchcraft, and she writes about it in a most innocent, seductive manner. It is no wonder that so many kids, ages 8-18, have been so caught up in the Harry Potter craze. But, the Public School systems of England and the United States are getting in on the act, as well. Bloomsbury Publishers, U.K. and Scholastic Publisher, U.S. have taken the lead in getting Harry Potter books established as regular curricula. Thus, Scholastic Harry Potter Teacher's Literature Guides have sprung up and are being sold to teachers in retail outlets so that they would know how to teach the material to their students. Rather than emphasizing the blatant and bold Witchcraft, these teacher's guides say to emphasis the "good versus evil" aspect of the storyline, and the "core values" of love, loyalty, courage, and determination. But, make no mistake about the fact that, if you allow your children to attend Public Schools in England, North America, Australia, and probably New Zealand, your child will be assigned Harry Potter books to read and to write reports on. This is a serious matter, because these books contain the most vivid discussions of actual hard-core Witchcraft imaginable, and does so in a way that convinces children that Witchcraft is not only all right, but is preferable to the world without Witchcraft, and that no consequences need to be feared if they practiced this type of Witchcraft. Finally, J.K. Rowling not only knows her Witchcraft, but she knows Illuminati Witchcraft. She consistently uses Illuminist symbols to portray key elements in her books, and she uses them in exactly the correct Illuminist meaning. Since the major goal of the Illuminati is to successfully stage the appearance of Antichrist, all Christian parents should be concerned that, just maybe, Harry Potter books are conditioning their precious children to accept him when he arises.
Revived Roman Empire? Recommendation 666 Is it any coincidence that the "harlot" or Revelation is shown on EU money?
The European Union (EU) today is made up of over 25 countries, however the ten nations of the Western European Alliance have a separate status as full members, while those nations who joined subsequent to the original 10 have only associate membership, or observer status. This 10 nation military wing of the EU may very well fulfill the prophecy of the beast with 10 horns from Daniel 7:7-8 and Revelations 13:1. On this beast’s back will ride the woman that symbolizes a global religious system that is to appear before Christ returns to set up His kingdom. Today, the EU does encompass the old Roman Empire. Also, in another stamp the symbol of a naked woman riding on the back of a beast depiction of the harlot woman was reproduced on the centenary stamp of the European Union, in a huge painting in the EU Parliament's new building in Brussels, and by a huge sculpture outside the new E.U. Council of Ministers Office in Brussels. The new European coinage, the Euro, bears the same insignia. One EU poster shows the people of Europe rebuilding the Tower of Babel. The text on the poster says, “Europe: Many Tongues – One Voice.” The stars on the poster are inverted into pentagrams, a recognized occult sign. A massive "space age" Crystal Palace tower (officially called the Tower Building) houses the Fifth Parliament of Europe. The 679 seats of its massive hemicycle are designed like the crew seats in the Star Trek space machines. While these seats are allocated to Members, one seat remains unallocated and unoccupied. The number of that seat is 666. The relevant section of the seating-plan provided to each Member reads as follows:
The purpose of the EU’s creation was and is, ultimately, to create a European super-state or “United States of Europe”, as some have suggested naming it, that would eventually rival the United States in influence and military might. In 1999, Javier Solana became the High Representative for the EU’s foreign and security policy, and through recommendation #666, he was given emergency powers over the military wing of the EU in 2000. All that currently remains to create a truly revived Roman Empire is the creation of a permanent executive branch of government and the full integration of the new Euro currency. With the introduction of the new EU constitution, the groundwork is being laid for just such an executive branch and economic system. The Vacant Seat Number 666 in the European Parliament Report on the opening of the Fifth Elected Parliament of Europe in Strasbourg and its occupancy of the new Parliament Buildings.
The recently elected Fifth Parliament of Europe met on Tuesday, 20th July, 1999, in its new glass building which cost the taxpayers of Europe an as yet uncalculated sum of billions of Pounds. The first meeting, due to begin at 10.00 a.m., did not start until 10.30 because the amplification system, which cost millions of Pounds, was defective. No doubt more defects in this Crystal Palace will be manifested in the days to come. Incidentally, the Members of the European Parliament had no say whatsoever in where the building was to be located, what its design was to be, what amount of money was to be spent on it, or how it was to be furnished. The French Government forced it both upon Members of Parliament and upon the Governments of European Union countries, Germany and the United Kingdom being made to foot the exorbitant bill. These two countries are Europe's pay slaves. The prophetic significance of the European Union has been revealed as the saga unfolds. [See our two articles on "The Conspiracy behind the European Union".] First, the sign which it chose as its symbol was the Woman riding the Beast. This comes from a prophecy in Revelation 17. The depiction of the harlot woman was reproduced on the centenary stamp of the European Union, in a huge painting in the Parliament's new building in Brussels, and by a huge sculpture outside the new E.U. Council of Ministers Office in Brussels. The new European coinage, the Euro, bears the same insignia. The Tower of Babel has been used on the posters emanating from Europe – a truly suggestive prophetic sign. Now, a massive Crystal Palace tower (officially called the Tower Building) houses the Fifth Parliament of Europe. It is certainly a building of the Space Age. The seats of its massive hemicycle are designed like the crew seats in the Star Trek space machines. There are 679 of them – but wait for it! While these seats are allocated to Members, one seat remains unallocated and unoccupied. The number of that seat is 666. The relevant section of the seating-plan provided to each Member reads as follows:
Revelation 13:18: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." That is 666. Today this scripture is being fulfilled before our very eyes. The Antichrist's seat will be occupied. The world awaits his full and final development. The Lord will destroy him by the spirit of His mouth (the Word of God) and by the brightness of His coming (2 Thes. 2:8). The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. The Saint Malachi Prediction There will be 112 popes until the End comes, these are the last three popes before Jesus comes back in glory and their character and spiritual life were foretold by St. Malachy's predictions. 1. The Labor of the Son. "De Medietate Lunae" JOHN PAUL II. 1978-2005. One of Malachy s strangest predictions concerned the pope who would follow "De Medietate Lunae. "He is designated as "De Labore Solis", or "from the toil of the sun." Applied to John Paul II, this phrase reveals nothing less than a double prophecy. The current pope, the first non-Italian elected in 456 years, is a native of Krakow, Poland. Krakow is the city where, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Copernicus "toiled" for years to prove his heretical theory that the earth revolved around the sun. Many of Malachy s interpreters also suggested that the "sun" reference indicated a young pope. Fifty-eight years old at the time of his election, John Paul II is the youngest pope in over a century. John Paul II is the most traveled Pope in history. He has circled the globe numerous times, preaching to huge audiences everywhere he goes. Even though he was once shot, he has not seemed to slow down. He has recently written a book which has enjoyed a large circulation. Like the sun which never ceases to labor and provides light daily, this Pope has been incessant. John Paul compared abortion to the Holocaust and denounced gay marriages as part of "a new ideology of evil." He argues that same-sex marriages threaten society by undermining the traditional family. John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920. On that date in the morning there was a near total eclipse of the sun over Europe. Prophecy - The 110th Pope is "De Labore Solis" (Of the Solar Eclipse, or, From the Toil of the Sun). The corresponding pope is John Paul II (1978-2005). Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) was born on May 18, 1920 during an eclipse of the sun. Like the sun he came out of the East (Poland). Like the sun he has visited countries all around the globe while doing his work. Karol was the first non-Italian pope in 456 years. He was ordained on November 1, 1946 and earned a doctorate in ethics at the Angelicum University in Rome. He was made auxiliary bishop in 1958 and Archbishop in 1964 of Krakow and Cardinal in 1967. He was elected the first Polish pope on October 1978. He spoke eight languages and he traveled more than any other pope in history. John Paul II died at the Vatican on Saturday, April 2, 2005, the same day as a partial eclipse, visible in the Americas. John Paul II may also be connected to the revelation of Saint Faustina Kowalska of Poland (quoting Jesus), "I bear a special love for Poland and if she will be obedient to My Will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming" (Diary "Divine Mercy in My Soul"). 2. The Glory of the Olive. The Order of St. Benedict has said this Pope will come from their order. It is interesting that Jesus gave his apocalyptic prophecy about the end of time from the Mount of Olives. This Pope will reign during the beginning of the tribulation Jesus spoke of. The 111th prophesy is "Gloria Olivae" (The Glory of the Olive). The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil. Traditionally, the olive branch has been associated with peace, but in both the Old and New Testaments it also serves as an emblem for the Jews. Putting the two together, some commentators believe that the reign of this pope will be a peaceful one during which the prophesied conversion of the Jews will take place. Several ex-Jews are said to be highly placed in the Catholic Church now. And, it is noteworthy that the previous Benedict (XV) was a pope obsessed with peace. Some others say, he will lead all faithful followers of the Lord Jesus to martyrdom and others say that he will tear down the walls of the Vatican, auctioning off all the objects within, in order to feed and enlighten those in the 3rd World who have not yet heard the Gospel of Christ. Bible Probe Comment: The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil. LOOK at the above again. The next pope will have something to do with OLIVE --not necessarily or even probably a Benedictine. Malachy DID NOT prophesize it would be a Benedictine! Someone in the Benedictine Order said they think the next pope will come from the Benedictines. GET THAT STRAIGHT! Also, St Benedict prophesized: before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil. NOTHING was mentioned as leading as a pope! 3. PETER THE ROMAN - The 112th prophesy states: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End." Will "The Glory of the Olive" be the last Pope? Is this the Pope of Peace (olive)? The problem with the prophecies as listed in The Prophecies of St. Malachy, published by the Thomas A. Nelson, a Catholic Publishing House, is that Malachy's original works listed only 111 Popes, not 112, as given in the TAN version of the prophecies. Sometime between the first and subsequent printings the 112th, Petrus Romanus, was added to Malachy's prophecy. It was added after the 1820 publication of the prophecies. On April 19th, 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. The name Benedict means "blessing". Does this name automatically fulfill this prophecy? Will the papacy of this 78 year old pope be short lived? Is this the beginning of Tribulation? Will the next pope be the last pope? Will the next pope be a Roman and choose the name Peter? Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger holds olive (palm) branches during Palm Sunday mass in Saint Peter Square at the Vatican March 20, 2005. Many Cardinals also held olive branches that day. Malachy's final words: In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock among many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city (Rome, the seat of the Vatican) will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. It is striking
that at least one pope had a similar mystical vision: Pius's prophecy was fulfilled neither in his own time nor in that of the next pontiff. According to Malachy's vision of the Church's "tribulation," it applies to the successor of Gloria Olivae-the next pope but one.
5 ANGELS! ARMAGEDDON!
Vision - Prophecy - Revelation from Patmos, Greece
1999/2000 PROPHESY!
When God Came to ArgentinaI have witnessed the awesome revival that began sweeping my country 15 years ago. Today, many of us are praying that Argentina's spiritual awakening will spread north--to the United States.By Ed Silvoso In Argentina, signs of revival are everywhere. Picture these: * The Velez Sarsfield Stadium, one of the largest in Buenos Aires, jammed with 55,000 young people. The occasion is not a rock concert or a World Cup match, but a call to holiness. Teen-agers from a myriad of denominations are on their knees asking forgiveness for their sins and promising before God and their friends to live a pure life. * The same stadium, a few months later, packed with believers representing every denomination. The reason? A praise and worship gathering featuring the new songs that have become the "common language" of the church in Argentina. Even though the 54,000 people present come from different traditions, when the corporate praise reaches its peak, the whole stadium turns into a cathedral, and the crowd becomes a living parable of unity in Christ. * An open field in the city of San Justo, Buenos Aires, where approximately 70,000 people gather to hear a businessman-turned-preacher. Many of them have been delivered from satanic oppression, and quite a few have been miraculously healed of terminal diseases. The preacher, Carlos Annacondia, is not a renowned televangelist, but the owner of a hardware store in a suburb of Buenos Aires who by 1997 had led more than 1 million people to Christ in similar gatherings all over the nation. * The Federacie Box stadium in downtown Buenos Aires where a dynamic couple has just finished ministering. Thousands have packed the facility, and many have experienced extraordinary miracles: cancers healed, organs recreated or demons cast out by the power of God. The couple, Omar and Marfa Cabrera, are accustomed to these meetings because every month they preach, face-to-face, to tens of thousands of people in more than 50 locations. * The Obelisk, a landmark in downtown Buenos Aires, where 18,000 leaders and intercessors participate in a solemn assembly. In plain view of their fellow Argentines and with the backdrop of a violent steel workers' demonstration a few blocks away, these men and women confess their sins and the sins of their fathers as they seek God's forgiveness and pray for the healing of the land. Before the event at the Obelisk, on Oct. 30, 1991, the inflation rate was 1,460 percent. Two years later inflation was down to single digits. What has been going on in Argentina during the last 15 years that has made this nation synonymous with revival, intercession and city-taking? To answer this we must take an in-depth look at the specific context in which the spiritual breakthrough occurred 15 years ago. Shattered Hopes Three hopes had to be shattered before the proud Argentineans would hear the voice of God. First, the political hope. In 1973 Juan Peron, who had dominated Argentina's political life since 1944, returned to the country after 18 years of forced exile. His return coincided with a deep political and social longing in the nation, and almost every Argentine expected him to perform a political miracle. However, Peron died within months of assuming the presidency. "El Hombre"--the Man--as he was proudly called by millions, failed to deliver. The nation grieved. Second, the economic hope. A military junta ousted Mrs. Peron, who had succeeded her husband, and in an effort to gain the favor of the masses, the new leaders tried to bring about an economic "miracle." At first they succeeded, but within two years the country was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, primarily because of corruption. The fact that the decline came on the heels of two years of artificial wealth made the pain even more unbearable. Argentina's economy soon lay in ruins. In a desperate move to retain power, the military junta created a diversion by invading the Falkland Islands, thus birthing the third hope--for military conquest. The junta carefully censored the news, and the Argentines were led to believe that the attempted takeover had been successful and that the British were on the verge of suing for peace. Then, in June 1981, the government made a totally unexpected announcement: "We lost the war." The announcement was so devastating that the bulk of the people lost faith in the government, the army and the Catholic Church. The progressive shattering of these three hopes created an enormous vacuum in the Argentine collective psyche. The nation lost its identity and was left with no political compass, no economic anchor and no military ballast. The monumental vacuum was bound to be filled by something. What was waiting to fill it? Witchcraft! Organized Macumba! During the Peronist government, Jose Lopez Rega, a high priest in the Macumba religion, used his influence over Peron, his wife and the presidential cabinet to propagate witchcraft all over Argentina. As a result, during the '80s the population was constantly exposed to witches and warlocks, many of them prominent national figures, "testifying" on television and radio. In addition, the Macumbas in Brazil began to organize "affordable tours of Brazil" for unsuspecting Argentines who, once in Brazil, were introduced to Macumba practices under the guise of "exposure to the local culture." Thousands of tourists returned demonized without knowing how it had happened. Also, local churches were regularly targeted by witches, and some of them suffered damage. The spiritual arena in Argentina was definitely controlled by the evil one, and witchcraft was rampant. At this time, most of the church was not aware of the weapons available to her to confront such a dimension of organized supernatural evil. Revival Begins It was within this atmosphere of national disillusionment and rampant occult practices that spiritual breakthrough occurred. Most identify its beginning with Carlos Annacondia's first major crusade in La Plata in 1982, during which 40,000 people made decisions of faith. However, the headwaters are found many years back. Six main factors contributed to the shaping of the spiritual climate that led to the breakthrough: 1. The Tommy Hicks crusades. In 1954 the small evangelical population in Argentina, numbering only a few thousand, received a boost when Tommy Hicks, a relatively unknown lay preacher from California, packed stadiums with multitudes who heard the Word and experienced the power of God. Two hundred thousand people a day attended the last week of the crusade, a most impressive figure at a time when the average evangelical congregation consisted of 30 members. Hicks planted a seed that would germinate a thousandfold 30 years later. 2. Hector Gimenez, The largest church is downtown Buenos Aires is pastored by Hector Gimenez, 33, an ex-drug addict and gunfighter. He started the church in 1983 and now leads a congregation of some 70,000. The official name of the church is The Miracles of Jesus Renewed Christian Church, but it more popularly carries the name of Gimenez's radio broadcast, "Waves of Love and Peace." Their church home is a 2,500 seat theater in which they hold eight services daily, seven days of the week. Gimenez himself preaches five services per day, a total of 35 different sermons per week. A study by a Polish sociologist estimates the attendance at 14,000 daily. I had the privilege of preaching to a packed house at the 8:00 p.m. service on a Tuesday night in April 1990, and saw more than a dozen profess salvation and fifty profess miraculous healing, numbers totally disproportionate to the usual results of my speaking. When we left just before 10:30 p.m., a new crowd had totally jammed the space between the theater door and the street, waiting to get in for the next service! Gimenez told me that a couple of weeks previously on Easter Sunday, they had rented the largest enclosed auditorium in the city, Luna Park, which seats 15,000. They needed three services to accommodate the 35,000 worshipers, and they baptized 3,200 by immersion in portable pools. Whether they set an intentional goal to exceed the number baptized in Jerusalem on Pentecost Gimenez did not say. etc... The glorious flames of the Argentine revival I first began hearing stories several years ago about a powerful multi-denominational revival in Argentina. Beginning in the early 1980s, believers began to utilize spiritual warfare, prophetic intercession, targeting prayer through spiritual mapping, identificational repentance, meaningful acts of reconciliation, and evangelism accompanied by signs and wonders. The results are glorious. God began remarkably using Carlos Annacondia, a successful nuts and bolts factory owner with a sixth-grade education, to lead more than a million Argentines to first-time decisions for Christ. In Buenos Aires, he will preach to 70,000. In these massive evangelistic campaigns, thousands of people will stand from 8 p.m. to midnight "to worship God, to receive healing and demonic deliverance, to see curses broken over themselves and their families, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to hear a simple message of salvation," reports C. Peter Wagner in his new book The Rising Revival (Regal), edited with Pablo Deiros. The book is a fiery collection of testimonies from some of the primary leaders in the Argentine revival none of whose names are familiar to those of us in North America, but ones we certainly need to get to know. God inspired burned-out pastors such as Claudio Freidzon to passionately desire His presence. Today he can be found preaching in soccer stadiums, leading people in repentance for secret sins. In his wonderful book, Holy Spirit, I Hunger for You! (Creation House), he describes a transforming moment in his ministry in 1992: "God poured out a salt shaker on my tongue, causing an intense spiritual thirst and hunger for the Holy Spirit! He not only filled my cup with the Holy Spirit, but he made the Spirit overflow toward others." It is this salt shaker of heaven that we need on our tongues a longing, an aching to be in the presence of the Lord. Amongst the 23 services per week conducted at Guillermo Prein's New Life Church in Buenos Aires, thousands of signs and wonders have been documented. He has had to add a Minister of Miracles, an M.D., to his pastoral staff. The Los Olmos maximum-security prison in La Plata, near Buenos Aires, was a stronghold for demonic oppression and occult activities in the early 1980s. In 1982, Juan Zuccarelli responded to the burden of the Lord for the prisoners inside Los Olmos by applying to become a guard in order to share his faith. When he arrived in 1982, there were only four or five inmates who claimed to be evangelicals. Today, there are more than 1,400 members of Christ the Only Hope Church right in the midst of the prison. Miraculously, they actually occupy the entire fourth floor of the prison and numerous cell blocks on the third floor. The church was birthed through incredible suffering and awesome miracles. "God has had to teach us daily what to do and how to do it," writes Zuccarelli. "We had not textbook on how to win a whole prison for Christ." They even have an aggressive evangelistic plan to reach the non-Christian inmate relatives who come to visit. Those who are converted later testify, "I had to come to prison in order to be set free!" They have set up a Bible institute, conduct services every evening, and have established a masterful intercessory prayer model that provides prayer covering at the prison throughout the entire evening, including bed-to-bed prayer for the inmates. There is even a specialized intercessory prayer cellblock, devoted to prayer and fasting. Although they are not permitted money, the Christian inmates tithe out of the gifts they are given from their relatives. According to Zuccerrili, these are shared with those "who do not receive visits, those in the prison hospital, poor relatives or even inmates in other prisons." Sending out their first missionary through an intentional transfer, the Los Olmos church has even established a church in a prison where all the inmates have serious mental illness. "Every time the Church surrenders itself in obedience to the lordship of Christ and is filled with the Holy Spirit, committing itself to the mission of God in the world, the supernatural manifestation of God's grace that we call ?revival? occurs," writes church historian Pablo Deiros, co-pastor of the oldest Baptist Church in Argentina. We need the glorious flames of the Argentine revival in North America. We have much to learn from the lessons the Argentines have already learned about sustaining a revival. Over and over again, they remind us that we must love the poor, thirst for God, and pursue holiness with a passion. Out of that, God will give us a burden for the lost, and a Holy Spirit power that will transform a nation something we so desperately need. The Welsh Revival EVAN ROBERTS Evan Roberts was born in 1878 in the small town of Loughor in Glamorgan, just 7 miles away from Swansea. Having left school at 11, he worked with his father at the colliery until he was in his early 20s – he then for a short time became a Blacksmith’s apprentice with his uncle in Pontarddulais. For years Evan had been a faithful member of Moriah Calvinistic Methodist church at Loughor, he was a Sunday School Superintendent, a consciencious reader of the main theological works of his day, and more than that he had been praying for revival for over 11 years. Having been converted as a young teenager, he continued to pray regularly that God would visit again the nation in Revival Power. Determined to do his part, he felt compelled to go into the Calvinistic Methodist Ministry and on September 13th 1904 he became a pupil of the Newcastle Emlyn Grammar School to prepare for Trefecca Theological College. This change of scenery had an immediate cooling effect on his spiritual fervour but it wasn’t to last long. Two weeks after arriving at the school, Evan attended a Convention at nearby Blaenanerch and it was here that he received what he termed as a fresh ‘Baptism of the Spirit’ as he responded to the prayer ‘Bend me oh Lord’. This empowering of the Spirit transformed the young student into a Revivalist with a message for Wales. Evan Roberts had been a committed Christian from his early teenage years. He had not lived a profligate life – he was a tea-totaler committed to abstinence, a regular attendee and contributor to the on going life of his local church. He was a well-respected Sunday school teacher – someone who prayed publicly in the prayer meeting and rarely missed the other mid week meetings. Friends of his at the time remember him as a committed Christian in word and deed. His private spiritual life also matched his public profession, private prayer and bible study. These were essential components of his spirituality from an early age. But it was in the spring of 1904 that Evan was to experience an even greater feeling of God’s presence. One night he was woken from his sleep and led into a deep communion with God for hours. This experience was to continue every evening for the next few months until he went away to the school at Newcastle Emlyn. It was only 2½ weeks after arriving that he found himself at Blaenanerch – and at a crossroads in his spiritual experience. A spiritual experience which would lead him back to the young people of his own church Moriah Loughor where he shared his experience and encouraged them to be open to God’s Spirit. Within two weeks the Welsh Revival was national news and before long, Evan Roberts and his brother Dan and his best friend Sidney were traveling the country conducting Revival Meetings and they were meetings with a difference. Meetings which broke the conventional and bi-passed the traditional – often the ministers just sat down unable to preach or even to understand what storm had arrived in their usually sedate temples. Within a month he felt compelled to share this message of the reality of God and the possibility of complete forgiveness of sins with his home youth group at Moriah Loughor. Summing up the message in 4 parts, Evan pressed it home to the astonished church 1. Confess all known sin 2. Deal with and get rid of anything ‘doubtful’ in your life 3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly 4. Confess Christ publicly This was a Revival with youth on fire – young men, yes and women. After the first stirrings amongst the young women of New Quay, young women continued to play a part in the Revival work – young Florrie went on a team to North Wales with her friend Maud – others used their voices as instruments of God’s message and amongst the most well known was Annie Davies Maesteg who accompanied Evan Roberts on his missions. By the end of the last week over 60 responded. By the end of the second week Evan had already started on a whirl-wind tour of the South Wales valleys with his team of 5 girl singers and within a year or so 100,000 converts were said to be added to the Welsh Church Yes a storm had hit the churches yet for so many it was a storm of love and power which completely transformed their lives. People were changed in so many ways. The crime rate dropped, drunkards were reformed, pubs reported losses in trade. Bad language disappeared and never returned to the lips of many – it was reported that the pit ponies failed to understand their born again colliers who seemed to speak the new language of Zion – without curse and blasphemy – even football and rugby became uninteresting in the light of new joy and direction received by the Converts. Colliers and tin-men of the working classes expressed their joy in so many ways – so many original prayers But perhaps the song that captures what most of these felt was a song sung by Sam Jenkins a tin plate worker from Llanelli – a song translated at the time from English to Welsh – Can y Rebel “Am Achub hen rebel fel fi” - "For saving an old Rebel like me". The Revival storm that hit the hills and valleys of Wales in the dying months of 1904 soon became a hurricane that affected the world. Visitors from France, Turkey, the U.S, to name but a few came to visit and as they caught the flame they passed it on to new countries. Welsh communities throughout the world felt the effects and news of God’s powerful work soon had many other churches praying that God would visit then as well – the Khasia Hills in India being a perfect example of prayer answered. The public excitement of the Revival had died down by 1906 – Evan Roberts went to Leicester to recuperate – the newspapers went back to politics and other things but for many, the honeymoon of these 2 years developed into a lasting and loving relationship with a risen Christ that continued a lifetime. A century ago Wales experienced the last National Religious Revival, a revival that brought in an extra 100,000 new converts according to the estimates of the time, and a movement that quickly spread to the 4 corners of the World. Yet that great move of the Spirit had very small beginnings. Beginnings that didn’t always involve the great preachers of the day – erudite and educated as they were, but instead included, for instance a young teenager from New Quay, Cardigan – Florrie Evans – who in a youth meeting in February 1904 declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire quickly spread to other young people in the Cardiganshire area. In asking one elderly Revival convert some years ago as to whether the Revival stopped in 1906, she answered – its still burning within my heart – it’s never been extinguished – it had burned for over 70 years. What was the secret of this young man's powerful ministry? I’m sure that there may be many answers including his upbringing, his bible reading, his prayer life etc. Perhaps a concise way of answering the question would be that he was willing to bow to God’s Sovereign purpose for his life. This did include being a teacher of a great Revival but firstly it meant being willing to let God have this Divine way in Evan’s own life. This involved a struggle between Evan’s way and God’s and as at Gethsemane it meant a conscious choice of “not my will but Thy will be done”. At Blaenanerch on Thursday 29th September 1904 at 9.30 in the morning, Evan took that step – one seemingly insignificant step for mankind yet one that lead to the greater advancement of the Kingdom of God worldwide. Local Church sees Miraculous Manifestations of Holy Spirit Crowns on teeth turn gold! Seeking His presence, realizing His power and a desire to accomplish His purposes leads believers into manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Linda, while driving her car was listening to a teaching tape and heard the teacher describe the moving of the Holy Spirit in revival. He told about a young man that had his teeth filled with gold. While driving she happened to look into the rear view mirror and was amazed at what she saw. Her fillings and her crown had turned gold. She thought it must be the light in the car. So she headed home. What was God doing? She ran into the house, looked in the mirror and they were gold! Maybe I'm just seeing things she thought. So she asked others in the house to look at her teeth and each one said the same thing. Yes, God has changed your fillings and your crown to gold. While giving testimony in church the following Friday one of the ladies looked into Linda's mouth and said 'I wish I had gold crowns. Linda said, 'You mean you don't?' Linda was looking into Kris' mouth and seen four crowns that were gold. 'You have four gold crowns now,' declared Linda. Kris ran to the bathroom to look into the mirror as each one in the meeting gave glory to God for what He was doing. Signs, wonders, healing and miracles give testimony to what God is doing throughout the world. It's the begining of the revival fires that are starting to burn even brighter.
Gold Dust and Gold Teeth (This article is some years old - links may not be valid now) If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; --- This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. (Job 31:24-28) I can put off this article no longer. Despite my reluctance to deal with yet another loony facet of the Toronto fringe of the Church, there are too many confused and bewildered people to ignore. I hope to be able to inject a little bit of sense into a senseless debate, and perhaps to provoke some Bible study and heart-searching on the part of those involved. The facts are these: in churches that suppose themselves to be part of the current "revival" (a subject amply covered in other parts of this site), people are now reporting having been given gold teeth or gold fillings, and also gold dust has been seen sprinkling some in the meetings. Even the respectable national newspapers the "Daily Telegraph" and the "Sunday Telegraph" have reported on these events so I think we can assume this is going to be big. I have no real reason to doubt the authenticity of the reports, although my reaction to some of them is skepticism. Looking at the short video of gold dust being shaken from the hair of the chief activist in this new manifestation, I found it unconvincing. (You can download the video here as a self-extracting zipped file of 1.8MB) The video concerns this, as reported on Ruth Heflin's site: A holy woman from Brazil, named Silvania, was at Calvary Pentecostal Campground from August 18-21, 1998 and again in February of 1999. In the process of her physical healing of four types of cancer, oil began to flow supernaturally from her body and later, gold dust began to be manifested on her face and the crown of her head. As she praises and worships, this phenomena [sic] is seen. Her Brazilian pastor gathers the holy gold flakes and anoints the forehead of the sick and needy. . . . This biography of Ruth Heflin is found on her site: Rev. and Mrs. Wallace H. Heflin, Sr., founders of Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle, Richmond, Virginia and the Calvary Pentecostal Campground, Ashland, Virginia, have been pioneers in the Pentecostal movement. Through the years, their ministry has been known for their clear prophetic gifts and miracles operating through simple, child-like faith in response to God. Together they ministered in more than 100 nations ---.Rev. Wallace H. Heflin, Jr., was one of the most dynamic evangelists of our time. Great signs and wonders followed his ministry in more than seventy nations. Until his death in December 1996, he pastored the Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle and was Director of Calvary Pentecostal Campground, where he trained and led thousands of men and women to the nations. Rev. Ruth Ward Heflin has been serving the Lord among the nations since her youth, having personally preached to multitudes, kings and world leaders. Her ministry is known for its prophetic anointing and revelation and her ability to lead people into spontaneous worship. She sees this hour as one for the revelation and manifestation of Revival Glory, in Israel, America, and the nations. Born into a classic Pentecostal family, she is equally at home among Catholics, Protestants, as well as being experienced in a wide spectrum of Jewish endeavor. She is senior pastor of the Mount Zion Fellowship, Jerusalem and senior pastor of Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle and Campground, Ashland, Virginia. News Reports A full page report on June 15th in the " Daily Mail" national newspaper states that gold fillings started to appear in the UK from late March of this year, and happened at a four-day conference in May held by the Pioneer Church of Gerald Coates. Gerald Coates has said that this is the latest "wave of revival", and is part of a religious revival resulting in mass conversions throughout Britain. It was he who promoted the "Diana Prophecy which said, "I am on the move in the cities of this nation and where flowers are laid, my Spirit will be moving faster than those flowers are removed." Needless to say, no such revival appeared. Despite this and many other false prophecies, thousands flock to Pioneer and other similar Restoration churches in the UK.
The report says that Christian gold fever goes back to the early 1970s but first came to a wider audience about ten years ago in Latin America, South Africa and Mexico, eventually appearing in the Vineyard Church at Toronto, Canada, the home of the Toronto Blessing. These statements are borne out by my own research into the phenomenon. Joel Edwards, Director of Evangelical Alliance, responded to the Daily Mail report with a letter to the newspaper in which he cautioned against rejecting the gold miracles. He wrote: "There are still many thousands of Christians who are at ease with a God who works miracles. Many of us have personal accounts of miracles, either in our own lives or the lives of those we know well. It is perfectly possible for God to move into dentistry. Let's not rush to denigrate something we cannot explain immediately or easily." David Pytches, former vicar of St Andrews Church, Chorley Wood, was one of the first British church leaders to import the Toronto experience from Canada to Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, [London] from where the TB spread throughout the UK. Pytches says that he first saw the "gold" experience in Chile, way back in 1974. Now he is encouraging people to accept this experience as "part of God's revival for the nation". Other TB churches have also had "gold miracles", including the home of the Toronto Blessing, the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship led by John Arnott. He, as well as the others mentioned, together with a host of church leaders throughout North America and Europe, are now firmly part of the gold tooth phenomenon taking hold in the church scene. Like the laughter, paralysis, barking, birth-pangs, visions of angels, glory clouds and all the other manifestations surrounding this current move, this gold manifestation is real in so far as it actually happens. But does that mean it is of God? That is the question many want answered. There are many skeptics who resides among us. For them, all miracles are fake or they are from the devil. In fact, there are deceptions and counterfeit miracles that comes from the father of all lies, Satan; however, it is completely wrong to say all miracles are either from God or from the devil. When we see miracles it will be wise to see all sides in order to avoid deception. On the other hand, as the days approach to the Second coming of the Lord Jesus, God performs many miracles to attract the attention of non believers (Act. 2:17-21). The Word will be preached in power and sometimes with miracles to bring many into the Kingdom of God.
Azusa Street Revival 1906 "Disgraceful intermingling of the races, they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn't talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting Repent," and he's supposed to be running the thing... They repeatedly sing the same song , 'The Comforter Has Come.'" - A Los Angeles newspaper (September 1906)
SHAKING AND TREMBLINGThe lead article of the third issue of The Apostolic Faith, published in November of 1906, is entitled "Bible Pentecost." Here are a few excerpts: The news has spread far and wide that Los Angeles is being visited with a "rushing mighty wind from heaven." . . . One brother stated that even before his train entered the city, he felt the power of the revival. . . . There is such power in the preaching of the Word in the Spirit that people are shaken on the benches. Coming to the altar, many fall prostrate under the power of God, and often come out speaking in tongues. Sometimes the power falls on people and they are wrought upon by the Spirit during testimony or preaching and receive Bible experiences. . . . The demonstrations are not the shouting, clapping or jumping so often seen in camp meetings. There is a shaking such as the early Quakers had and which the old Methodists called the "jerks." On the second page of the same issue, Glen A. Cook provided his testimony, in which he wrote: I could feel the power going through me like electric needles. The Spirit taught me that I must not resist the power but give way and become limp as a piece of cloth. When I did this, I fell under the power, and God began to mold me and teach me what it meant to be really surrendered to Him. I was laid out under the power five times before Pentecost really came. Each time I would come out from under the power, I would feel so sweet and clean, as though I had been run through a washing machine. . . . My arms began to tremble, and soon I was shaken violently by a great power, and it seemed as though a large pipe was fitted over my neck, my head apparently being off. . . . About thirty hours afterwards, while sitting in the meeting on Azusa Street, I felt my throat and tongue begin to move, without any effort on my part. Soon I began to stutter and then out came a distinct language which I could hardly restrain. I talked and laughed with joy far into the night. In the fourth issue (p. 4), G. W. Batman wrote, "I received the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire and now I feel the presence of the Holy Ghost, not only in my heart but in my lungs, my hands, my arms and all through my body and at times I am shaken like a locomotive steamed up and prepared for a long journey." William H. Durham recorded his testimony in the sixth issue of The Apostolic Faith (February-March, 1907), p. 4, where he wrote: On Friday evening, March 1, His mighty power came over me, until I jerked and quaked under it for about three hours. It was strange and wonderful and yet glorious. He worked my whole body, one section at a time, first my arms, then my limbs, then my body, then my head, them my face, then my chin, and finally at 1 a.m. Saturday, Mar. 2, after being under the power for three hours, He finished the work on my vocal organs, and spoke through me in unknown tongues. R. J. Scott, the superintendent of Home and Foreign Missions in Winnipeg, Manitoba, wrote as follows in The Apostolic Faith (February-March, 1907), p. 7: After a trip of nearly 3500 miles, we arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday morning, Nov. 29. I left my family at a hotel and proceeded with my son on a search for Azusa Mission. After I was there a short time, a lady got up and testified, and the power of God fell on her and she began to tremble. . . . Well, glory to God, after this sister trembled for a few minutes, she started to speak in an unknown tongue to me, and to my surprise, after she had uttered a few sentences, she spoke in English, giving the interpretation of what she said. In the same issue (p. 8), Clara E. Lum of the Azusa Street Mission wrote: When I came to Azusa Mission, I went in for the baptism with the Holy Ghost immediately. Had some digging to do, but the Lord met me. I was filled with the Holy Ghost many times and was shaken many times by the power of God. In a report from San Francisco that appeared in issue no. 7 (April, 1907), p. 4, we read: The power of God shook her so mightily that an elderly lady friend, who had accompanied her to the meetings, was greatly agitated and excited about it; she declared that sister was having a fit, and said something ought to be done to relieve her. When told that it was the power of God, and that the sister would come out all right, she looked incredulous, and flew around in great excitement. Evidently she had not seen it on this wise before. The sister did not return to the meetings until Saturday night. . . . The sister was again shaken by the mighty power of God. Her husband was sitting by her side, and was evidently amazed; yet he recognized it as the power of God, though not saved himself, he did not resist the power of God, nor try to hinder his wife. When his wife went to the altar, still shaking under the mighty power of God, he sat quietly in his seat, deeply moved by what was going on. On the same page of that issue, there was a report from Spokane, Washington, according to which "little children received their baptism and spoke in different languages. One Methodist minister and one Advent minister received the baptism, and before they spoke in tongues shook for some hours under the power of God." SPEECHLESSNESSIn vol. 1, no. 5 (January 1907), p. 1, we read: "One who received the Holy Ghost baptism in Clearwater, testified, 'It was in morning worship. We read a chapter and I wanted to pray but the Lord tied my mouth. The power began to come in waves. The Lord took full possession. I fell over like a dead man. I was dead to the world. I tried to pray while lying on the floor, but when my tongue was loosened, it was in a different language." In issue no. 7 (April, 1907), p. 4, the following was reported from San Francisco: On another night a Hawaiian brother was gloriously converted. . . . The Hawaiian could not speak for some minutes after he arose to his feet, the power of God was upon him to such an extent. PREACHING BECOMES IMPOSSIBLEOne of the problems that people had to face during the early Pentecostal revival was that, very often, they were affected so strongly by the power of the Holy Spirit that preaching became impossible. For example, in the December, 1906 issue of The Apostolic Faith (vol. 1, no. 4), p. 3, the following announcement appeared: Sister M. E. Judy writes from Columbus, Ohio, that they have a tarrying meeting there and others in different towns are tarrying with them in Spirit. She says, "Last Sunday a burden of prayer came upon the people in our humble little church in such power that our minister had no opportunity to preach, just said a few word on "This is that" and closed. Writing from Norway, A. A. Body wrote concerning T. B. Barrat's meetings that "the meetings are liable at any moment to be swept by a wave of spiritual power sweeping through all human arrangements. At time the noise is strangely awesome, almost appalling to an 'outsider'" (The Apostolic Faith, vol. 1, No. 6 [February-March, 1907], p. 1). UNABLE TO MOVELevi R. Lupton wrote as follows from Alliance, Ohio, in the sixth issue of The Apostolic Faith (February-March, 1907), p. 5: I then became perfectly helpless and for a season my entire body became cold, and I was unable to move even to the extent that I could not wink an eye for a short time. Yet, I was perfectly conscious and restful in my soul and mind. After some three hours the power of God left my body except in my shoulders and arms, which remained stiff during the entire time I was upon the floor. DRUNKENNESS IN THE SPIRITMyrtle K. Shideler wrote as follows in the January, 1907 issue of THE The Apostolic Faith (p. 3): By the time the chorus ended, the power of God was so heavy upon me. I could scarcely open my mouth, and every fibre of my being was trembling. Yet my feet felt glued to the floor and my knees stiff, so I could not sit down. I only got out a few broken sentences that I remember. (I never fainted in my life and was never unconscious, but God certainly took me out of myself.) He showed me things which there are not words enough in the English language to express. . . . I was under the power the remainder of the meeting, and for three days was as one drunken. . . . Since then, such waves of power roll over me from time to time. I can scarcely keep my feet, and I am sure if my old friends in California could see me, they would think I was indeed insane. Here's a report that appeared in The Apostolic Faith, vol. 1, no. 10 (September, 1907): Missionaries in China have been seeking the baptism with the Holy Ghost ever since they received the first Apostolic Faith papers from Los Angeles. One dear missionary, Brother B. Berntsen from South Chih-li, Tai-Ming-Fu, North China came all the way to Los Angeles to receive his Pentecost. And, bless God, he went to the altar at Azusa Mission, and soon fell under the power, and arose drunk on the new wine of the kingdom, magnifying God in a new tongue. THROWN TO THE FLOOROn January 29, 1907, T. B. Barratt wrote from Chistiania, Norway that "One man was thrown on his back, a preacher, last Sunday morning in the Students' Hall, and when he rose, he spoke in four languages, one of these was English. He could speak none of them before" (The Apostolic Faith, vol. 1, No. 6 [February-March, 1907], p. 1). John Barclay, a policeman from Carlton, Melbourne, Australia, wrote in the May, 1908 issue (vol. II, no. 12): "Presently some mighty, marvelous unseen power took hold of me, and I was thrown downward on the floor. Everything around me disappeared. The other friends were as if they never existed. I saw the heavens opened and my previous Jesus sitting on the throne. . . . [At another meeting,] about 1 o'clock a.m., a brother laid hands on me, and I received my baptism. My hands, arms, and whole body trembled greatly and I was thrown on the floor. All the others were praising the Lord." HOLY LAUGHTERA. S. Copley of Cambridge, Ohio, was quoted by The Apostolic Faith (January 1907), p. 4, as follows about a meeting that had taken place on December 8, 1906 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hebden in Toronto: "One young woman . . . laughed incessantly for hours and hours. Sometimes she speaks in a tongue while at her work." Henry Prentiss reported as follows in the May, 1907 issue (vol. 1, no. 8, p. 4): We went to the meeting where Bro. Blassco is. The Lord wonderfully blest in the service, and one precious sinner was saved, sanctified and baptized with the Holy Ghost. The Lord filled her mouth with holy laugher and she spoke in new tongues and has been under His power ever since, filled with joy and gladness. The following month, A. A. Body wrote from England as follows (vol. 1, no. 9, p. 1): The next morning the Holy Ghost came in mighty power, causing me to laugh as I had never done in my life. A. A. Body's wife wrote something very similar in a later issue (vol. 1, no. 11 [October 1907 to January 1908], p. 1): After a long time of silent waiting upon Him, God gave me a wonderful vision of Christ in the glory at the right hand of the Father, and from Him came a wonderful light on to me, causing me to laugh as I had never done before. Here's another example, from vol II, NO. 13 (May, 1908), p. 4: Then the power fell. There were times when we were all shouting, screaming and laughing together under the power of the Spirit. A WARNING ABOUT INTERFERING WITH THESE MANIFESTATIONSThe ninth issue of The Apostolic Faith (September, 1907), p. 4, published a warning from Kedgaon, India, about attempts to suppress manifestations of this kind: We do not need to worry over these manifestations, nor seek to suppress them. it is fruit in the life and service that we want to see [Emphasis in the original]. These manifestations do not hinder fruit-bearing but we have seen over and over again during the past fifteen months, that where Christian workers have suppressed these manifestations, the Holy Spirit has been grieved, the work has stopped, and no fruit of holy lives has resulted. Who are we to dictate to an all-wise God as to how He shall work in anyone? When the Spirit is poured out upon anyone in strong conviction, why should be well them that it is wrong to cry? Because among idolaters the devil imitates the trembling caused by the Holy Spirit when He comes in so as to overpower the physical, why should we say that the person has worked it up or is possessed by an evil spirit? The writer testifies that she has in the silence of the midnight hour, alone in her room without a sound in the house, been shaken from her innermost being, until her whole body was convulsed, and filled with joy and consciousness that the Holy Spirit had taken possession of every part of her being. No one had greater prejudice against religious excitement that she, but every time she put her hands upon the work at Mukti to suppress joy or strong conviction, or reproved persons being strongly wrought upon in prayer, the work of revival stopped, and she had to confess her fault before it went on again. Richard Riss rriss@drew.edu
Does God Answer Prayer? I suppose there has been no word on Christians' lips so frequently at this time as the word "prayer," and there is not one in this hall who has not thought often, during the last forty-eight hours, of the importance of prayer. During this week of prayer, they are a great many not only thinking about it, but talking about it. When there is a special interest and awakening in the community on the subject of religion, then it is that a great many skeptics and infidels, and a great many mere nominal professors of Christianity - we will not judge them - begin talking against "prayer." They say, "The author of the world doesn't change His plans because of these prayers. The world goes right on. You cannot move God to change His mind or His doings." You hear this on every side. These young converts hear it. I have no doubt that many are staggered by it, and when you kneel down you say, `Is it a fact that God answers prayer? Is there anything in it?' I think it would do us good in the week of prayer to take the word "prayer," and run through the Bible tracing it out. Read about nothing else. I think you would be perfectly amazed if you took up the word "prayer," and counted the cases in the Bible where people are recorded as praying, and God answering their prayers. A great many think it is only the perfectly righteous and pure that pray. But you remember who it was who prayed in this fashion, "Lord remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom." You remember that Christ answered the dying thief's prayer. We cannot but notice that every man of God spoken of in the Bible was a man of prayer. You have therefore very good authority and encouragement for asking God to hear your prayers, and for praying on behalf of others, as we are daily requested to do. Many are surprised at these requests. But many mothers and fathers are rejoicing that they sent them in. The prayers offered up here have been answered, and their children have been saved. Last night I was more confirmed in my views regarding the power of prayer than ever. "This is all excitement," some say; "it is got up by earnest appeals that work on the feelings of people, and move their impulses, making them uneasy and anxious." Now, for example, there was nothing said last night to speak of, and I never was more disgusted with myself than I was on Sunday -night. It seemed as if I could not preach the Gospel, as if my tongue would not speak. But still the number of inquirers was extraordinary. Last night, when there was no speaking at all, and when I just came in and asked that any inquirers might follow me into the moderator's room, taking a few with me, and expecting to come in and ask out a few more when I had seen these, the number was so great that came out without solicitation that I did not need to return. I saw over a hundred inquirers last night, and there were from fifty to seventy that I had to close the door on, being unable to see them. A great many who have not been at the meetings at all, have been converted in their own homes. God is working, not we. Oh! that we would keep ourselves down in the dust, and every one of us get out of the way, and let God work. It would be so easy for Him to go into every dwelling in Edinburgh, and convict and convert ten thousand souls. Look at the 6th verse of the 4th chapter of Philippians. "Be careful for nothing, but in everything" - mark that - "by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." He doesn't say He will answer all, but He says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." He tells us to make our wants known; to make our requests known to Him by prayer and supplication. It is right to come and make our requests known. He has told us to come and pray for the conversion of souls. It is said by many people that God does not do anything supernatural in answer to prayer; that the God of nature moves right on and never changes His decrees. Read the first six verses of the 20th chapter of 2nd Kings, and see - "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death: and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears, behold I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord, and I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." Was not that a direct answer to prayer? Hezekiah was only praying for his own life; we are come together to pray for the life of others, and not their temporal but their eternal welfare. He was not praying for Christ's sake as we now do, but we can come to-day and ask God to save the souls of men for Christ's sake, not only for our sake, but for the sake of the beloved Son. He loves to honor that Son, and to see Christ honored. We can come now and ask Him to save souls, that it might bring glory and honor to the Son of His bosom, and glory and honor to the Son He delights to honor. "I will," He says to Hezekiah, "defend the city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." That is only one instance. Look also at Daniel praying. It was his prayers that took the Jews back to Jerusalem. It was his prayers that turned Nebuchadnezzar to the God of Israel, and brought Gabriel down from heaven to tell him he was greatly beloved. He had power with God. See also how God answered Jacob's prayers and Isaac's prayers. All through the Bible we have records of the answers to prayers. It would be terrible to think that God did not delight to answer prayer. Turn to the 20th chapter of 2nd Chronicles. There we read that the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others coming against Jehoshaphat, he was afraid, "and set himself to seek the Lord," and that afterwards Judah "gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord." That is what we want - to seek the Lord not only here in the public assembly, but alone. If you have got an unconverted friend, and are anxious that he should be saved, go and tell it privately to Jesus, and if a blessing does not come, like Jehoshaphat, spend a few days in fasting, and prayer, and humiliation. "If when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in Thy presence (for Thy name is in this house), and cry unto Thee in our affliction, then Thou wilt hear and help." When I go into the streets, and see the terrible wickedness, and blasphemy, and drunkenness that is in them, it seems dark, but I look up and think that God can repel those dark waves of sin and iniquity. Let us pray that God will bless this land of Scotland, bless and save all the people in it. It would be a great thing for us, but very little for God. May God give us faith! --Message delivered by Dwight L. Moody at the noon prayer-meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland, Jan. 6, 1874.
|
) -- In three of the Gospels, Jesus warns that each of his disciples may have to "deny himself" and even "take up his Cross."
