Bible on Revival

What the Bible has to say on Revival

There is no shortage of books about Christian revivals. Over the decades I have read a fair cross section of them, so why do I want to go back to basics and look at biblical examples? The answer is a bold one: I think on the whole that the books are missing vital elements.

To be sure some of the stories of past revivals make exciting and inspirational reading which is good as far as it goes, but I want to know more. Also authors of these put their own spin on them. Some are super-spiritual and discount the human – sociological factors, human psychology and techniques of persuasion. Others go to the other extreme of denying anything except these human elements. Finally some produce one-size-fits-all human based blueprints for revival which strike me as pretty useless.

So I want to go back to basics.

A word of warning before we enter the world of the Bible. I happen to believe it – which sets me apart from an awful lot of modern church ministers! For those who eschew the Old Testament, just two quick points. Sure the Old Testament pointed forward to Jesus and found its fulfilment in him, but Jesus quoted it as authoritative in teaching and said “I did not come to do away with the Law and Prophets” (which is what they called what we call the “Old Testament”) So If one believes in Jesus one is committed to taking the OT as authoritative too. Second point is the statement in 1 Corinthians 10.11 about the experiences of the Israelites in the desert: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us...” This should alert us to the fact that there are things to be learned from the narratives in the OT. So far from being “just a Jewish history” as I have heard it described, we have deliberately preserved for us in the OT narratives historical scenarios which have something to teach us.

I also happen to credit God with more (infinitely more!) than average human intelligence which sets me apart from an awful lot of “Christian” platform speakers and their followers. Here is what I mean: First they treat the Bible as a grab bag of quotes to back up their own one-eyed ideas – they wouldn't dare do that if they really believed it came from God! Then they read it in a literalistic way – as if God didn't know about the figures of speech and plays on words that even pretty dumb humans use all the time.

For example we understand a play on words – as in this joke: “There are two fish in a tank; one turns to the other and says 'Hey do you know how to drive this thing?'” Guess what? God uses plays on words too! For instance a very simple play in Jeremiah 1.11-12 where the footnote in your Bible should tell you that in the original Hebrew “almond tree” and “watching” sound alike.

If we interpreted our everyday language literalistically – which we don't – we would get ridiculous meanings. This is exploited for humour by one author (Terry Pratchett) in this example: “A brass plaque on the wall proclaimed that – against all gynaecological probability – 'Fred Bloggs was born here'”.

Other aspects of “methodology” will be discussed and developed as we go. If I were to put up a starting hypothesis to test it would be something like this:

a) There is no one-size-fits-all pattern of revival. Rather a great variety to suit different situations.

b) The initiative for revival is generally taken by God alone, but occasionally in response to the prayers of devout people.

c) Human agents are generally invited to play a role. Occasionally human agents unwittingly play a role.

d) God frequently utilises crises and sociological factors to motivate revival, and uses many honest techniques of persuasion.

Case Study : The Golden Calf – Exodus 32

I'm not going to treat this one in depth because it has many unique features.

But I think it is fair to use it as an illustration is the role played by a leader chosen by God. It would appear God was going to destroy the Israelites for turning away from him so quickly and attributing his deliverance of them from Egypt to an idol in the form of a golden calf, but in answer to Moses' petition spared them.

Ps 106.23 Puts this graphically even painting the image of a warrior defending the breach made by an enemy in a city wall: “So he (God) said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.”

From this I deduce that a person God has appointed leader may be able by their intercession to be responsible for God – in this case dramatically - changing his intentions, or in a more ordinary way sending revival. We may be able to refine this observation as we examine further cases.

Is the New Testament Consistent

Is the New Testament Consistent with the Old?

In a very brief way we have established the internal consistency of the Old Testament. The next question is the dual consistency of the New Testament with the Old and within itself.

The new testament message revolves around Jesus Christ. Who he was. What he did. How we should live in the light of this. So I will start with the “letters” and then look at the Gospels.

Paul's letters first: remember we are not looking at the entire message of them this time – just the description of God's character that would either agree with or contradict the one in Exodus we chose: Exodus 34:6,7. (YHWH) “passed in front of Moses proclaiming: “YHWH, YHWH the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished ...”

The short answer is that in Paul's letters all these attributes are demonstrated in Jesus. Jesus hanging on the cross dying for the sins of the world is exactly this character of God previously stated to Moses displayed now in actions for all to see. There is an abundance of examples available, for instance:

Romans 3: 23ff: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified feely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in forbearance he had left sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

God's grace and compassion are evidenced in his actions, as is the combination of forgiveness but not leaving evil go unpunished.

Ephesians 2: 1ff “you were dead in your transgressions and sins … all of us also lived … at one time gratifying the cravings of our flesh … like the rest we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”

Again god's great compassion, graciousness, love, and forgiveness are the triumphal theme – because this wonderful character has been demonstrated in action in Christ, and made real and effective to us who believe.

Hebrews 1: 1ff “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being … after he had provided purification for sins ...”

John follows closely in his letters, for instance: 1 John 4: 9ff “ This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we have loved God; but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 Peter 1: 3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Revelation 21: “ 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and will be their God. And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' … The one who was seated on the throne said “ … It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost form the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”

I'm sure I do not need to join the dots! Exactly the same character of God in these areas is consistently displayed throughout the letters and Revelation, and it is exactly the same character as maintained throughout the Old Testament.

Now for the Gospels. Again, the Gospels are all about Jesus. Who he said he was, what character he displayed in word and deed. The mighty miracles by which God endorsed him. And ultimately his suffering, death and resurrection. In John's gospel in particular the slowing of the pace as Good Friday approaches highlights that this is the single most important act.

I started with the other books of the New Testament because of their commentary on Jesus death and resurrection. That this was God – Father Son and Holy Spirit – demonstrating beyond all question and beyond all imagining, the true character of God. And showing in actions what had been revealed in words to Moses, showing now that God was the very essence of Compassion, Graciousness, and Love. And showing supremely now what he had demonstrated in smaller ways throughout history: his utter faithfulness to those who trust in him.

Also during his few years of public ministry Jesus demonstrated this character in his every day dealings with people. As this is obvious by reading any of the Gospel accounts I will not give examples here.

Forgiveness is both amply demonstrated in the Gospels and amply understood by the general public. The enigma of this co-existing with God's stated character of not leaving evil unpunished is also amply demonstrated by Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection “the righteous for the unrighteous”.

Hence the double-barrelled reason given in Romans 3: a) to demonstrate god's justice since he, the just Judge had indeed forgiven sins in the Old Testament period. And b) to be just even in justifying those who believe in Jesus.

All I think that remains to be demonstrated is the trait of not leaving the impenitent guilty unpunished. This should be obvious on any reading of the Gospels, but as it has been denied by much modern liberal theology I shall give some examples.

Matthew 7: 13,14: “ Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and few find it”

Matthew 18: 6ff “If anyone causes one of these little ones … to stumble it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. … If your eye causes you to stumble … it would be better to enter life with one eye than to … and be thrown into the fire of hell.”

The parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 19 ends with the warning “… the master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless ...”

Jesus condemnation of the practices of the religious leaders includes this dire warning: (Matt. 23: 33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”

Jesus' depiction of the Judgement concludes: (Matt 25: 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

So the gospels also give a consistent account of God's character in the area we chose to examine.

To sum up: The Bible claims throughout to be a record of “the God who made heaven and earth” making known things to human beings about God's character and how God desires humans to live. Written by a large number of different people over roughly a millennium and a half the Bible exhibits the sort of consistent message we would expect if its claim were true.

Thus examining the Bible in a scientific sort of way has paid dividends. We have not proved that God exists, we have not even proved that the Bible is what it claims any more than a scientific experiment can prove a hypothesis is true. But … just as with scientific experiments … we have established that taking the Bible's claims as “true” is a good working hypothesis.

Is the Bible Consistent Pt. 1

Is the Old Testament Consistent?

Does the Bible give a consistent message over its span of a millennium and a half and over its many authors, and genres of literature? To cover every thread of Biblical teaching, or even every author is beyond the scope of a blog. So I will take one theme only and just a few authors spread over the timespan of the Bible. This week : the Old Testament.

I accept that Moses wrote most of the first five books of the Bible. Tradition holds this and it seems the most probable explanation since he was educated in the Egyptian royal court and so would be literate. (interestingly Mohamed nearly two thousand years later could not read or write and his first followers had to memorize his sayings)

So in Exodus we have early 13^th century BC writings. Let us look at just one passage in this incredibly early writing; a passage where God says something about his own character.

Exodus 34:6,7. (YHWH) “passed in front of Moses proclaiming: “YHWH, YHWH the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished ...”

In the narrative of God's dealings with his people throughout the Exodus period, this is certainly born out time and again. But let us see if it is in later writings.

In the book of Judges we have historical cameos from the period covering a few hundred years after Moses' death.

Here there is a recurring theme: The Israelites are loyal to God for a while, then they forsake him to worship foreign idols. Then God withdraws his aid. Then the Israelites are subjugated by more powerful neighbours. Eventually they cry out to God for help. God (usually) sends a messenger to tell them to throw away their idols and return to God. Then God raises up a national hero who beats back their oppressors and they enjoy a period of peace. Then the cycle starts again.

In this we see in action that God is: compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, forgives (when people repent!) wickedness and rebellion, but does not leave the guilty unpunished (in these instances he withdraws his aid and they are oppressed by their neighbours).

The same elements of God's character are illustrated in his dealings with individuals and the nation of Israel throughout the “historical” books of the Old Testament, as anyone can easily check for themselves. Now let us look at a different genre of literature in the Bible.

Those psalms that are ascribed to David are 10^th / 11^th century BC poems and worship songs. They depict God's character consistently with Exodus. For instance:

Psalm 23:6. “surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life...”

Psalm 32. “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven … then I acknowledged my sin to you … and you forgave the guilt of my sin ...”

Psalm 37:9 “… Those who are evil will be destroyed ...”

Psalm 40. “I waited patiently for YHWH; he turned to me and heard met cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit. Out of the mud and mire; he set my foot o a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

This barely scratches the surface, but should suffice to illustrate that several hundred years after Moses, and in a different genre of literature, the same character of God is depicted and worshipped.

Amos was an early 8^th century BC prophet. His task was to warn the northern kingdom of Israel that God was about to punish them and urge them to repent and change their ways. Here we see that God, as he said, is one who “does not let the wicked go unpunished”

For example Amos 2:6ff “This is what the Lord says: 'For three sins of Israel even for four I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor … and deny justice to the oppressed ...” … “Now then I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain … declares the Lord.”

True to God's self description to Moses, Amos' warnings end with a promise of hope.

Amos 9: 9ff “I will give the command and I will shake the people of Israel among the nations … all the sinners among my people will die by the sword … In that day I will restore David's fallen shelter – I will rebuild its broken walls … I will bring my people Israel back from exile.

He people did not heed Amos' warning. In 732 BC the Assyrian army devastated Israel and dispersed its people throughout their empire because they had rebelled against their Assyrian overlord.

The scroll of Isaiah may have have been written over a long period. However the first 39 chapters are clearly 8^th century BC,

I am not going to try to expound Isaiah's message, merely isolate some parts of that message which indicate that, prophesying in the 8^th century BC the same characteristics that God pronounced to Moses are being exemplified (where applicable) in speaking to the situation at hand.

God said to Moses that he “does not leave the guilty unpunished” this is repeated over and over in Isaiah. Just one example is:

Isaiah 10: “Woe to those who make unjust laws … to deprive the poor of their rights … to withhold justice from the oppressed of my people … making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless … what will you do on the day of reckoning … nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain.”

God spoke to Moses of his compassion and forgiveness. This theme also flows through Isaiah, for instance the promise in Ch. 11 of the restoration of the nation and a new Davidic ruler (in terms only truly fulfilled by Jesus and realised in heaven)

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse (King David's father) … The Spirit of the Lord will be upon him … with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth … he will slay the wicked … the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat … they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

God said to Moses he was “abounding in love and faithfulness” Isaiah foretells a time when God acts and his people will say: (Isa 12) “I will praise you Lord, although you were angry with me your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself is my strength and song, he has become my salvation.”

Again these few examples are barely scratching the surface, but suffice to illustrate the point.

Jeremiah was a 7^th century BC prophet. He had the difficult task of telling the southern kingdom that God was about to punish them for their sins and those of previous generations, but if they repented, this could be averted. They did not repent and the nation was destroyed by the Babylonians. Here are some examples of God's proclaimed character as one who punishes, and one who forgives the penitent.

Jeremiah 1: 16 “I will pronounce judgement on my people for forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and worshiping what their hands have made” with Jeremiah 2: 8ff “The priests did not ask 'where is the Lord?' … the leaders rebelled against me … the prophets prophesied by Baal … on your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor ...”

Jeremiah 3: 12,13. “'Return faithless Israel', declares the Lord, 'I will frown on you no longer for I am faithful' declares the Lord. 'I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt – you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favours to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me'.”

Even in the midst of prophetic warning, the theme of God's compassion and mercy and his abounding in faithfulness and love shines out. Fir instance Jeremiah 23.

“Woe to the shepherds (ie the national leaders) who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture. (ie the people) Because you have scattered my flock … I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock … I will place shepherds over them who will tend them … The days are coming declares the Lord when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”

Malachi, the last and latest book in the Old Testament is mid 5^th century BC. His task is to call his nation to repent. He points out they have broken their covenant with God: By offering blemished sacrifices; By divorcing their wives; By injustice and by not paying God's tithes. Also people have been speaking arrogantly against God. But some people have remained true to God. Here is a segment near the end: (4:1ff)

“'Surely the day is coming, it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble and the day coming will set them on fire' says the Lord Almighty. 'Not a root or branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like calves'.”

Again a God who does not let the wicked go unpunished, but shows compassion, forgiveness and constant love to the penitent and faithful.

Next Week: The Old Testament gives a consistent message but does the New Testament follow suite?