Revival/Reformation

Revival Reports

Table of Contents (Scroll down to view all)

1. Hearing God

2. A New Shift

3. Worship for Revival

4. Revival History

5. A Reformation to Sustain an Awakening

6. A Gathering of Remnant Believers

7. Times of Refreshing

8. John Knox

Hearing God

By Lanny Swaim

Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Amos 3:7-8

Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. Ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

1 Corinthians 14:29-32

In the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul is giving instructions concerning how we are to assemble together. Obviously, from the above scripture reference from 1 Corinthians, prophecy is to be a major part of our assemblies, not coming from one or two people on a stage, but from anyone in the congregation who is led by the Holy Spirit.

I believe both the above scripture references give us insight into not only prophesying, but also into hearing God speak in general, especially for guidance and direction.

From my own experience with hearing God speak, I have come to realize that sometimes we receive a word from the Lord that is not to be questioned. We should simply hear, obey and run with it. But there are other times when we should question what we are hearing and judge it, seeking discernment from the Lord to first of all determine if it is actually Him speaking to us, and then if it is something we should run with or instead something we should wait for clearer instructions about.

Sometimes, when I am not sure about a word I have received from the Lord, I’ll bounce it off someone else who I know to be prophetic and who is known to accurately prophesy.

Often that person will hear something from the Lord about what I have heard, intended to give me a clearer understanding of what I have heard. But even then, I must determine exactly what is meant by what that person is saying. So once again, I need discernment.

If God spoke to us the same way every time, soon we would never question or judge what we are hearing. That would leave us open to deception. It is better that we must stay on our toes, so to speak, keeping us depending on discernment from the Lord to determine if what we are hearing is actually from the Lord and if it is to be taken at face value, instead of questioned and judged.

Because of the time we live in, when we are transitioning from The Church Age into The Kingdom Age, and much is changing spiritually and politically in the world, more than ever we need to hear clearly from the Lord as to what we should believe and what action we should be taking.

I’ve been hearing the Lord speak for over fifty years and while I recognize His voice rather well, there are still those times when I need clearer discernment about what He is saying, if it is in fact Him saying it. In all those years I have only heard Him speak to me audibly once, when He walked into my bedroom at 6:00 one morning, sat down on my bed, and we had a conversation. So the hundreds of other times I’ve heard Him speak was that still, small voice inside, sometimes very clearly Him but most of the time more of an impression, leaving room for the possibility that it was just my imagination or some other inward voice.

Recently, He has been giving me guidance and direction void of actually hearing Him speak. I call it a knowing. I just become aware of something, knowing that awareness came from the Lord. It’s much like when I first realized, as a nineteen year old agnostic, that He does exist and is the Truth I had been searching for.

This ability to hear the Lord and the practice of hearing the Lord is exciting, to say the least. And, as already stated in this article, is of great importance.

As a young believer in the early 1970’s, one of my greatest desires was to hear the Lord speak to me. Over a period of time, I did hear Him speak numerous times in different ways, and I learned to recognize His voice.

But all these years later I sometimes still wrestle with what I believe Him to be saying. However, I have come to realize that He wants me to hear Him as much or more than I desire to hear Him. So I rest in that knowledge, realizing that He will get through to me, somehow and at the proper time.

He needs us to be His voice in the earth, and He will see to it that His voice is heard in the earth.

Surely we were born for such a time as this.

Amen (so be it).

A New Shift

By Lanny Swaim

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Hebrews 10:7 quoting Psalm 40:7-8

Like numerous others in eastern North Carolina, for several years I have been aware of a prophetic word given by Derek Prince in Jacksonville, NC on April 6, 1975:

I have found favor with you here in eastern North Carolina. I will personally visit you. There will be a revival greater than that of the great Wales Revival at the turn of the century [20th Century]. There will be kings and leaders who will come from north and south and east and west to study the eastern North Carolina phenomenon.

As a keeper of this prophecy, I asked the Lord one day, “What is the phenomenon?”

Very quickly He answered me saying, “It is my glorious Church, built according to My blueprint, and functioning according to My plan.”

The revival Prince prophesied will not only be greater than the Welsh Revival of 1904, it will never end, unlike the Welsh Revival and others of the past. It will be the beginning of the completion/perfection of the Church, which will literally change the world.

Recently I was given a book by some friends in Pennsylvania, entitled The Seed of a Nation, by Darrell and Lorrie Fields. I had gotten about half way through the book the first time I read it when I heard the Lord say, “The revival Prince prophesied for eastern North Carolina cannot happen until it begins in Pennsylvania, because Pennsylvania is the seed of the nation.

William Penn’s vision was to establish a political model of The Kingdom of God on Earth as in Heaven, and he called Pennsylvania a holy experiment, believing that God would make it the seed of a nation.

History confirms that Pennsylvania did become the seed of our nation. During the American Revolution, York was the temporary capital of the Continental Congress, with The Articles of Confederation being drafted and adopted there.

In November of 2018, in cooperation with the York Aglow Chapter, I held a meeting in York to pray for revival in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.

In that meeting I led a time of praise and worship, and we experienced the manifested presence of the Lord among us. I then brought a message after which we broke up into small groups to pray and share as the Spirit led. Then we came back together and one person from each group shared with the entire group what had taken place in their group.

I left that meeting refreshed by the presence of the Lord, and by the time of fellowship and ministering to one another. But I had no overwhelming inward witness that we had impacted the area, the state of Pennsylvania or the nation for revival.

The following morning I attended the regular Aglow meeting held in the same room. Teresa Greco was scheduled to lead worship at that meeting. I had not met Teresa prior to that meeting.

The following is Teresa’s account of what happened that morning as she entered the building and during a time of prayer before the meeting began:

As I entered the gathering room before the Aglow meeting, I sensed that something powerful had taken place in that room. There was a sweet, but strong presence and anointing lingering. I went to a classroom to pray with some others prior to the Aglow meeting, and as we started to pray, that sense greatly intensified. As one person started praying, I saw a very large white lion rise up and leap from the meadow on the north side of the building. It was wearing a white fur robe with thick spotted fur edges, a golden crown and was holding a golden scepter with a red stone on the tip. As it leapt, it gave an extremely loud roar that permeated the atmosphere, sending shock waves across the sky. After it had crossed the roof of the building, it kept on flying across the city of York and disappeared. His roar broke something loose in the heavenlies and cracked through a layer covering the atmosphere over the city. It was very powerful, and real. It took me a while to come back into the physical realm after seeing it.

Needless to say, Teresa’s experience and what she saw that morning confirmed to me that we had accomplished our mission the night before.

When I returned to Pennsylvania in May of 2019, everywhere I ministered I brought a message about a great awakening coming to The United States and the world; an awakening which must begin in Pennsylvania before it can spread to the rest of the United States.

And I held another meeting in corporation with the York Aglow Chapter, much like the first one in November of 2018.

During that trip I spent a few days staying with John and Teresa Greco and attended a home meeting in their house. Another friend, whom I had met on an earlier trip to Pennsylvania, attended that meeting. He mentioned a meeting he had planned to have at his house in June, but then asked John and Teresa if he could instead have it at their house, to which they consented.

He then told me of a lady who was coming from Altoona, Pennsylvania to that meeting, and he said to me that he felt I should meet her. So about three weeks later I made another trip to Pennsylvania.

We met in John and Teresa Greco’s home on Saturday afternoon, June 22, 2019. There were ten of us present in the room that day, including the lady from Altoona.

I have never been in a meeting quite like that one. It lasted for about six hours, which seemed like a few minutes. The Holy Spirit was continually, powerfully present in that meeting, with no ebb and flow but a progression toward a crescendo, which I don’t think we entered into the fulness of. Not that we fell short of the goal of that meeting, but rather that we set something in motion that will continue until it encompasses the entire Earth.

As the meeting got underway, the lady from Altoona spoke prophetically that we were sitting under The Counsel of Heaven (they were right above us), and that they were writing everything taking place in that meeting while at the same time, everything taking place in that meeting was already written and The Counsel of Heaven was reading it as it was taking place, in a sense actually orchestrating the meeting, even to the extent that the conversation of the meeting was more than our words, it was their words, which were written in the volume of the book.

At one point I said that I felt like we were in such a holy place and in such a holy event that we shouldn’t even be speaking, but that we should just sit there in silence, being a part of the moment in the most awesome manifested presence of God I have ever experienced.

And yet, what was spoken that day was necessary and prophetic, being written and having been written in the volume of the book.

During the meeting it was prophesied that prophecy is no longer going to be so much about someone standing up and saying, “Thus saith the Lord,” as we will actually become prophecy. Our very lives will prophesy of that which is happening and that which is coming. We will be made examples of the Word of God, of the purposes of God, of the love of God, to the extent that volumes will be spoken without a word being spoken.

To document everything that was said in that meeting would require the writing of a book, which is not my intent with this report. Rather, my mission is to document the overall purpose and accomplishment of that meeting.

During the meeting it was prophesied to me that I am blessed to be doing what I am doing (concerning ministry). I needed to hear that. Often I have seen what I do as more of a burden than a blessing.

While praying into that prophecy after the meeting, I was led to Psalm 65:4.

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

Most of those attending that meeting realize we were chosen to be in that meeting and to be a part of the purpose of God for that meeting.

The Lord quickened to me during the meeting that what we were doing was comparable to what our founding fathers did during The Continental Congress that was held in York during The American Revolution, when The Articles of Confederation were drafted and adopted.

What our founding fathers did had an effect on future history forever, not only establishing a nation but literally changing the world for future generations. They were operating in the natural realm but were backed by the spiritual realm.

What we did on Saturday, June 22nd, 2019, has also impacted future history forever, which will lead to the reestablishment of our nation as a Constitutional Republic and leader of the free world, literally changing the world for future generations. The difference is that we were operating in the spiritual realm and by doing so, changing the physical realm.

That meeting was a one of a kind meeting, with a very specific purpose, and the mission was accomplished.

While it was a one of a kind meeting, it was the beginning of additional meetings that will continue the purpose of that meeting, just as there were other meetings and documents that established The United States of America.

I suspect that each meeting will be different from the first but a continuation of the first. But what was born that Saturday afternoon was more than meetings. It was the birth of a movement that will entail the greatest awakening The United States and the world has ever known, which will include a new reformation of the Church, and ultimately the restitution of all things.

During and since that meeting I have felt enlarged on the inside, an experience comparable to and perhaps even greater than when I was first born again and baptized with the Spirit.

While much will be done and accomplished as the result of that meeting plays out, the ultimate goal of that meeting is not about doing, but rather about being. The playing out of the mission is about who we are becoming, individually and corporately as the Body of Christ, which will ultimately and literally change the world.

So, the revival that Prince prophesied for eastern North Carolina in Jacksonville, NC on April 6, 1975 has begun in Pennsylvania, and can now find fulfillment in North Carolina and throughout the United States, impacting the entire world.

Interestingly, the same day of Prince’s prophecy in eastern North Carolina, the same word was given in the Tidewater area of Virginia by someone else, only the Tidewater word said the revival would take place in the Tidewater area.

This is an indication that this revival, which will also be a major awakening in the United States and throughout the world, will happen in many different places throughout the country and in other nations.

Surely we were born for such a time as this.

Worship for Revival

By Lanny Swaim

When he [Jehoshaphat] had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten.

2 Chronicles 20:21-22

When we praise and worship the Lord, we don’t do it to get Him to do something. We do it simply because He is worthy of our praise and worship. And we do it because we love and adore Him.

But in the above scripture reference, we see the singers going into battle ahead of the soldiers, with a specific purpose in addition to expressing love and adoration to Him. The result of their singing praise to the Lord God ensured the defeat of their enemies.

Recently, as I was working at my desk, I heard the Lord say, “Worship for revival.”

This is not a new concept for me. If you've read the Revival Report above this one, you learned of a couple of meetings I had in York, Pennsylvania, which involved worship and were specifically for the purpose of initiating revival in Pennsylvania and across The United States of America.

While I am very cautious about worshiping in expectation of anything other than to express our love and adoration to the Lord, I realize that it is scriptural at times to worship in expectation of something beyond simply worshipping to express our love and adoration to Him.

I know that worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in truth activates the spirit realm. Perhaps the most profound occurrence during worship is that people experience the manifested presence of God.

Often the gifts of the Spirit are activated, with people in the congregation receiving prophetic words and/or visions. Sometimes angels are seen and/or heard singing. At times individuals receive healing. I remember on one occasion during worship, an older lady who was nearly blind had her sight restored.

I’ve seen other manifestations of God’s presence. Gold dust appearing. Oil running out of people’s hands. Often a sweet smell comes into the room.

I could go on and on, but I want to point out that we weren’t worshipping to get these manifestations to happen. We were simply worshipping and they did happen.

However, I believe there are times when we worship expecting the result of a God ordained purpose, as did the singers in the above scripture reference.

I also believe that worship will be the hallmark of a group of Christians I often refer to as The Remnant Bride of Christ, who are pilgrims and trailblazers opening the way for the greatest move of God the world has ever known, ushering in a new reformation of the Ekklesia (Greek for Church meaning a governing/legislative body).

And as the worshipping Remnant Bride of Christ we will be worshipping not only to express our love and adoration to Him, but to usher in His Kingdom manifesting on Earth as it is in Heaven, bringing about an actual convergence of Heaven and Earth, moving us closer and closer to the fulfillment of Revelation 11:15.

The kingdoms [nations] of this world are become the kingdoms [Kingdom] of our Lord [Jesus], and of his Christ [the Body of Christ]; and he [we] shall reign for ever and ever.

Surely, absolutely and without a doubt we were born for such a time as this!

Revival History

By Lanny Swaim

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts, for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.

Isaiah 28:9-10

History records many revivals, awakenings, moves of God, etc. But each remained for a short period of time and then faded into historical memories; precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.

To list and record something about each of them would require the writing of a book, but I would like to mention a few in this article.

Perhaps one of the first such events is mentioned in Acts 19:9-12, where the apostle Paul preached for two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus, where somehow all of Asia heard the Gospel because of Paul’s time in Ephesus, as God preformed many miracles at the hands of Paul.

As Paul and other apostles traveled to the ends of the Roman Empire at that time, they were accused of turning the world upside down with the Gospel (see Acts 17:6).

But Jesus had taught that a seed must fall into the ground and die to produce fruit (see John 12:24). By the end of the first century heresy had crept into the apostolic Church, and then in the fourth century the Roman Emperor Constantine made it legal to be a Christian in The Roman Empire, followed seventy years later by Emperor Theodosius making it law that all Roman citizens had to be Christians, essentially marrying Church and state, an act of spiritual adultery when the Church divorced her bridegroom, Jesus.

The seed had fallen into the ground and died, lying dormant for centuries to come.

In 1859 a group of believers in Wales were praying for revival and God answered their prayers with a major move of God in Wales, which actually saw many baptized with the Holy Spirit and receiving the gift of tongues.

In 1904 many in Wales were praying for another revival like the one in 1859. God raised up Evan Roberts, a coal miner in his twenties, to spearhead a revival that literally changed society in Wales. For two years there was almost no crime in Wales and many taverns became places for church gatherings. Many visited Wales to see what God was doing there, which may have influenced The Azusa Street Revival in Los Angles in 1906, where many incredible signs, wonders and miracles became the norm for over two years. Some Pentecostal churches and denominations today consider Azusa Street to be their beginning.

In the mid-twentieth century the Charismatic Movement or Renewal as it was referred to, saw the baptism with the Spirit cross most if not all denominational boundaries. This coincided with the Jesus People Movement that Time Magazine dubbed the Jesus Revolution among young people, which saw many teenagers and young adults come into The Kingdom of God.

All these events and numerous others not mentioned here, were but stepping stones (precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little), to the greatest of all spiritual awakenings that is now in its beginning stages in The United States and throughout the world.

This awakening will also entail a new reformation of the Church, which will sustain the awakening. This awakening will never end like all the other moves of God throughout history, and the Church will be perfected; a glorious Church without spot, wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish (see Ephesians 5:27).

This awakening will be the ultimate fulfillment to the prayer Jesus taught us pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as in Heaven.”

This is the continual coming of Jesus, not a future event but an ever present reality, literally changing the world as we, the Ekklesia (Greek for Church meaning a governing/legislative body) disciple the nations, returning creation to God’s original intent, which is no less than the restitution of all things (see Acts 3:21).

Surely, without a doubt and absolutely, we were born for such a time this!

A Reformation to Sustain an Awakening

By Lanny Swaim

Isaiah 28:9-10

In our last Revival Report (see above) I used this same scripture reference, and then opened with the following statement:

A few years ago I connected with Andy Sanders, an itinerant minister in upstate New York who owned and headed up a publishing company. I had already released my first paperback book entitled, Kingdom Manna, published by McDougal & Associates and edited by Harold McDougal.

I sent the book to Andy, who had one of his editors critique the book and make some suggestions of things I might add to the book to make it even better. Andy’s wife, Cathy, is a graphic artist, and she designed a new cover for the book that was much better than the original, which was my idea. Cathy has also designed the covers for my other two published paperback books released since Kingdom Manna.

In 2016 Andy connected me with someone in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who set up a ministry trip for me to Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, which involved numerous engagements over a period of more than two weeks. I followed up that trip with others over a period of four years.

On one of those trips, I was invited to a home meeting by a couple I was staying with in Waynesboro, PA. That meeting, in Mechanicsburg, was headed up by Darrell and Lorie Fields, authors of an amazing book entitled, The Seed of a Nation; Rediscovering America.

Since I was a visitor to the meeting, Darrell asked me to share a little about myself. I briefly spoke about a soon coming great awakening that was being prophesied by numerous prophetic voices at that time, and about a vision the Lord has given me for networks of house churches connected into apostolic hubs, which will be a new reformation of the Church.

Darrell then commented to me, “The new reformation of the Church will sustain the great awakening.”

Unlike the revival moves of God in the past, this awakening will never end, because, as Darrell pointed out, a new reformation of the Church will sustain it.

God is not going to bring another revival/awakening like those of the past, which will be but another stepping stone (line up line, precept upon precept) to something greater. And in order for that to happen, there has to be a new reformation of the Church.

At the time of this writing (2025) that great awakening has begun, and it is time for the new reformation of the Church to begin as well.

And begin it will, because, surely we were born for such a time as this.

A Gathering of Remnant Believers

By Lanny Swaim

It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Joel 2:32 (emphasis added)

When Peter quoted from Joel 2:32 in Acts 2:21 on The Day of Pentecost when believers were first baptized with the Holy Spirit, he stopped short of mentioning the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Why do you suppose he did that?

Perhaps he realized that the remnant Joel had prophesied about was still in the future and didn’t apply to that notorious Day of Pentecost.

I believe that to be the case, and I believe the remnant Joel was prophesying about is in existence today.

Joel’s remnant is a present day remnant of The Body of Christ, having received and continuing to receive revelation of The Kingdom of God, giving us a much clearer understanding of the Kingdom than has been realized up until now.

We are a firstfruits company, pilgrims and trailblazers, paving the way into a glorious reality heretofore unknown to believers.

We are The Remnant Bride of Christ, currently being taken out of The Body of Christ in order to complete The Body of Christ, just as Eve was taken out of Adam in order to complete him.

And we are scattered over the face of the earth, often secluded individuals, but appearing more and more as small pockets of like-minded believers, seeing and experiencing much of the same, carrying a Sons of Issachar anointing (understanding the times) and a trumpet (prophetic) anointing, encouraging one another as we come into the unity of the faith, speaking as one voice, prophesying a great awakening and new reformation of the Church, but even more than that, a time when the nations will become The Kingdom of God, literally and experientially bringing The Kingdom of God on Earth as in Heaven (see Revelation 11:15).

Recently I was in a meeting in Thurmont, Maryland, where a group of these remnant individuals came together for several hours, each one being led by the Spirit to encourage and enlighten one another.

I had been asked to minister at this meeting, primarily by leading worship ushering in the manifested presence of God, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover God’s manifested presence already moving among the people present before I sang the first note.

However, this meeting was but a prelude to the meeting that was to come. Nancy Taylor Tate, of Parousia Ministries, who had hosted this gathering in a restaurant, invited anyone who wanted to and could to come to her and her husband’s house and continue meeting.

And that is where it became so evident that we were remnant believers carrying very weighty anointings that, when joined together in the unity of the Spirit, became a prophetic voice as a trumpet speaking into the atmosphere so near our nation’s capital, prophesying The Kingdom of God superimposing itself into The United States of America and ultimately, the entire world.

I can’t begin to tell you how encouraging it was to be in that group of remnant believers, some having traveled some distance to be there.

I am aware that there are more of us scattered throughout the earth than we know, but this was the first time I had been with that many of us in the same room.

What an incredible experience!

I believe much was accomplished that day, and I believe there will be similar meetings as the remnant is brought together by God in gatherings, assembling for the common purpose of advancing The Kingdom of God in earth as in Heaven.

Surely we were born for such a time as this!

Times of Refreshing

By Lanny Swaim

Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Acts 3:19 (emphasis added)

There have been numerous revivals, awakenings, renewals, moves of God, times of refreshing, or whatever you want to call them since the Church was first born on The Day of Pentecost after Jesus ascended.

None of these events in and of themselves have brought the Church to completion/perfection, as incredible as some of them were.

Some of them are well known, others lesser known, and some probably completely forgotten. Some were well known when they occurred, while others were barely known outside the area where they occurred.

But God has used them all to bring us to where we are today, on the threshold of the greatest spiritual awakening in the history of the Church and the world.

In this Revival Report I want to give you a brief history of some of these times of refreshing, and a prophetic look at where we are as a result of these events and where we are going from here on the timeline of history.

Surely we were born for such a time as this.

I’ve been taught and I have taught that Jesus didn’t come as the Son of Man to free the Jews from Rome as most probably hoped He would, but that He came to free them from sin. However, I’ve come to realize that is only partially true.

When Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel (see Mark 16:15), more than likely He was referring to The Roman Empire, which according to scripture and to history they accomplished in the first century.

In Thessalonica they were even accused of turning the world upside down (see Acts 17:6).

I believe the fall of The Roman Empire was the direct result of the Gospel being preached throughout The Roman Empire.

If this is true, it explains why Jesus didn’t preach what I refer to as The Gospel of Personal Salvation that the Church for the most part has been focused on for many years. Jesus preached The Gospel of the Kingdom, having taught His disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as in Heaven (see Matthew 6:10).”

Down through Church history, the numerous moves of God have for the most part been perceived as getting people born again so they can go to Heaven, but I submit to you that the real purpose of the various moves of God has been for the purpose of bringing Heaven to Earth.

One of the greatest examples of this is The Welsh Revival of 1904, which literally changed society in Wales. For about two years there was almost no crime in Wales and many taverns became places for church gatherings.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Getting back to the first century, perhaps the first and one of the greatest of these events we refer to by different names, took place when the apostle Paul preached every day for about two years in Ephesus. Acts 19:10 informs us that all in Asia heard the Gospel because of Paul’s time in Ephesus.

This was without radio, television or the Internet. Quite amazing!

We are also told that God wrought special miracles at the hands of Paul (see Acts 19:11).

Fast forward to 1859:

In 1859 revival broke out in Wales, starting with united prayer and worship as believers from various denominations came together, which was unusual. Powerful preaching led to an estimated 100,000 conversions, impacting society. Interestingly, this move of God cannot be attributed to any one individual, although Humphrey Jones and David Morgan were instrumental in igniting and spreading it. It was marked by church buildings being full, spontaneous singing and a noticeable manifestation of God’s presence. It is very possible that it may have been inspired by an 1857-1858 move of God in America.

The 1857-1858 evangelical movement in The United States and Canada became known as The Businessmen’s Revival and/or The Third Great Awakening. A New York City businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier, began an hour long prayer meeting for businessmen during the lunch hour on Wednesdays. Only six people showed up at the first of these prayer meetings, but from there it grew to many and even to numerous meetings across the city every day of the workweek, eventually spreading to other cities across The United States and even into Canada. Perhaps the economic uncertainty of that time fueled the hunger for spiritual solace in many businessmen. It is estimated that as many as one million people made decisions to follow Jesus as a result of this movement. There was significant church growth and the many changed lives impacted society, continuing on throughout The War Between the States (1861-1865), with revival fires burning in the North and the South. The revival became known for the manifested presence of God rather than being based on doctrine. Could it be this move of God was a precursor to Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, which began about a hundred years later and spread to possibly as many as 160 nations?

With some considering this to be The Third Great Awakening in the United States, let’s take a brief look at the first and second great awakenings.

The First Great Awakening, led by key individuals such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards, took place in the American colonies during the 1730’s and 1740’s. Sermons focused on a personal relationship with the Lord and a new birth experience. This movement resulted in unity among the colonists but also caused division among denominations, opening the door to growth in small groups such as the Baptists and the Methodists. More than likely, this awakening paved the way for the development of self-governance, leading to The American Revolution.

A sermon Edwards preached is considered by some to be the kick start to this first great awakening. Entitled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, it seems the awakening was founded on a fear based gospel rather than a grace/love based gospel. Nevertheless, this movement resulted in many coming to a new faith in Jesus as their Savior, which obviously impacted society.

The Second Great Awakening took place from the 1790’s through the 1840’s, a much longer period than The First Great Awakening. A key figure in this revival was Charles Finney who believed revival was the result of prayer and inspired preaching. He resided over numerous revival meetings, which became known as camp meetings on the American frontier. These meetings were known for much emotionalism as the result of the Holy Spirit’s manifestation during these often very large gatherings. Much like The First Great Awakening, this movement saw much growth in Baptist and Methodist congregations, plus the establishment of new groups. Also, like in The First Great Awakening, society was impacted, bringing about reforms such as The Abolitionist Movement and temperance concerning the consumption of alcohol.

In 1801 The Cane Ridge Revival took place in Kentucky, considered by some to be the peak of The Second Great Awakening. Led by Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone, it is estimated that as many as 30.000 people attended these meetings, which were characterized by much emotion, including people jerking and falling out under the power of the Holy Spirit. It began as a traditional, ritualistic communion service that was evidently interrupted by a genuine move of the Spirit. The momentum of The Cane Ridge Revival spread throughout the American frontier, sparking other camp meetings that eventually led to present day denominations being established.

I’ve already briefly mentioned the Welsh Revival of 1904, which was the result of Christians in Wales praying for another revival like the one in 1859. God raised up a coal miner in his twenties named Evan Roberts to spearhead this revival. Roberts preached three times a day, seven days a week for a period of about two years throughout Wales. These meetings were accompanied by manifestations of the Holy Spirit, including speaking in tongues. Many became Christians during this move of God in Wales, which, as I have already stated, literally changed society in Wales. People from other countries visited Wales to witness what God was doing there, and about the time The Welsh Revival ended, in 1906 The Azusa Street Revival began in Los Angles, California.

A small group of black Americans had started a prayer meeting at a house on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angles. As the Spirit began to move in these meetings, more and more people came. One of them was William Seymour, who had learned about and was preaching the baptism with the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues, even though he himself had not yet received the Holy Spirit baptism. As others at the Bonnie Brae Street meeting did receive and spoke in tongues, eventually Seymour received as well. As the crowd grew, everyone coming couldn’t get in the house. With the meeting going on inside and outside the house, the disturbance in the community eventually involved local law enforcement and the meeting was shut down.

At this point, one night Seymour was led by the Holy Spirit to go into a white section of town where black people were not allowed after dark. He was led to knock on a certain door, and inside he found two white women praying. He asked them what they were praying about, and they responded that they were asking God to send someone into their neighborhood to start revival. Seymour said, “I am the man.”

He found a rundown stable on Azusa Street and rented it. He cleaned it out, set up some makeshift benches and a podium, and began having meetings, which went on twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with a racial/ethnic mixture of people coming and going for different periods of time. Seymour moved into the upstairs of this building, coming down to the meeting for various periods of time. The makeshift podium was a box, and Seymour would often stick his head inside the box and remain there instead of preaching, and often it was as he remained with his head in the box that many miracles took place. There are accounts of incredible miracles during the two years this meeting continued, along with much speaking in tongues and prophecy.

Alfred Garr, a white man who pastored a church in Los Angles, shut down his church and moved the congregation to the Azusa Street meeting. Later Garr moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where he pastored a very large church known for the many miracles that continually took place in their meetings.

At times flames of fire were seen shooting out the roof of the Azusa Street building. The fire department would be called only to find there was no fire.

Around two years into The Azusa Street Revival, Charles Parham, a white man who had been instrumental in introducing Seymour to the baptism with the Holy Spirit, visited Los Angles and attended the revival. Parham was a racist, and seeing various ethnic groups worshipping together, he caused quite a controversy, which was perhaps the main thing that led to the end of The Azusa Street Revival.

However, numerous Pentecostal denominations today consider The Azusa Street Revival to be their beginning.

Interestingly, at the same time The Azusa Street Revival was going on in Los Angles, a similar but less publicized revival took place in Dunn, North Carolina.

Throughout Church history there have been many other revivals, awakenings, moves of God, etc. So many that to document them all would probably require the writing of a book, and there are numerous books available about some if not many of them.

Between 1949 and 1953 there was a major awakening in the Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland, involving many people and packed church buildings.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Charismatic Movement or Charismatic Renewal as it was often referred to, saw the baptism with the Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues and other gifts of the Spirit, including healing and prophecy, cross many if not all denominational boundaries in Protestant Churches. The Roman Catholic Church was also a part of this movement. Beginning in The United States, it quickly spread internationally, especially in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

The Charismatic Movement coincided with The Jesus People Movement among young people, which Time Magazine dubbed The Jesus Revolution.

I was very much involved in both, having been born again in the spring of 1970 and baptized with the Spirit that summer.

There are other more recent local and regional revivals I won’t mention here, which you may be aware of.

In the spring of 2000 I met Miguel Escobar, a revivalist who at the time of his passing had ministered in over ninety nations. I was blessed and honored to travel with Miguel for a period of time, witnessing many supernatural manifestations of the Spirit.

Miguel had a vision for revival centers all over the United States. He didn’t see that vision come to pass, but I believe it will. However, I believe these revival centers will be a catalyst for apostolic hubs overseeing networks of house churches. Miguel’s vision, in concert with an apostolic vision the Lord has given me, will be much more than another revival. It will encompass a new reformation of the Church, which will sustain the greatest of all spiritual awakenings that is being prophesied and has now begun.

And this will impact societies and governments like no other move of God has until the present time. All the times of refreshing I have mentioned here and the many others have been but stepping stones to what is about to take place, because, saints of God, The Kingdom of God/Heaven is coming in earth as never before.

I must say it again. Surely we were born for such a time as this!

John Knox

By Lanny Swaim

In our last Revival Report (above) we took a brief look at some of the revival moves in history, focusing on how these moves often impacted society and politics.

As I often mention in my writings, the Greek word that translates as Church in English is Ekklesia. It is not a religious or spiritual word, but a political word, and literally means a governing/legislative body.

As the Lord’s Ekklesia, we are here to literally take over the world. Not by coercion or force, but by changing hearts.

The Gospel of the Kingdom, which is the gospel Jesus preached, is not about getting people saved so they can go to Heaven.

In Romans 10:9 the apostle Paul states:

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Salvation is not instantaneous at the time we are initially born again (born from above). Paul didn’t say believe and you are saved, he said believe and you shall be saved. Salvation is the process of maturity/sanctification that enables us to be useful to The Kingdom of God.

As we become more useful to the Kingdom, we become more effective as the Ekklesia.

In this writing I want to take a brief look at the life of a man who lived this reality, at great cost but with great passion.

John Knox

1514 – 1572

Born three years before Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church house door in Wittenberg, Germany, John Knox grew up in early 16th Century Scotland. Scotland was predominately Catholic, and Knox attended the University of St. Andrews where he studied theology, becoming ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1536.

He studied under John Major, a prominent Scottish scholar who advocated for church reform and was critical of the abuses within The Roman Catholic Church.

Knox too began questioning traditional Catholicism, and was also influenced by George Wishart, a Protestant Reformer and Calvinist who was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1546.

Knox was very vocal in his efforts to reform the Church in Scotland, also becoming a man of much prayer, known to pray, “Lord, give me Scotland or I die.”

It seems that down through history many of the great moves of God have been birthed by much prayer and intercession. Evan Roberts, who was very much involved in the Welsh Revival of 1904, was known to often pray all night long while preaching three times a day, at great cost to his health.

As an apostolic intercessor myself, I was recently pondering why we should pray so intensely and so much in concert with what God is doing. I found myself wondering, “Is it really necessary?” Suddenly I was reminded that Jesus often prayed all night long during His ministry before going to the cross.

I came to realize that when we intercede for people and situations, we are not trying to get God to do something but are instead coming into agreement with Him that His plan will play out just as He has planned. And as we pray and intercede, something happens in us, equipping and empowering us to be the vessels He uses to implement His plan and see it carried out.

During the time John Knox lived, many in Scotland were allied with the French in an effort to ensure that Catholicism survived and thrived in Scotland, in opposition to The Anglican Church in England and The Protestant Reformation.

In 1547 Knox was captured by the French and spent nineteen months as a galley slave. During this time he survived by spending even more time in prayer, establishing an intimate relationship with the Lord.

In 1549 Knox was freed due to intervention by the English, and was ordained in England as a Protestant minister during the reign of King Edward VI, himself a Protestant.

After the early death of King Edward VI, Queen Mary Tudor, also known as Bloody Mary, a staunch Catholic, came to power and Knox fled to Geneva, Switzerland, where he became a close friend of John Calvin.

In 1559 he returned to Scotland, believing that prayer could change history.

Queen Mary Stuart summoned Knox at least five times to appear before her, and is quoted as saying, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more that all the armies of England.”

Eventually, with the weakening of French influence in Scotland, in 1560 the Scottish Parliament approved The Scots Confession, a creedal confession of The Scottish Reformation, which was written by Knox and five other reformers.

As a reformer, Knox also had much influence over education in Scotland, and is credited with starting The Scottish Presbyterian Church, which spread to America with many Scots migrating to The New World.

John Knox understood that true reformation begins in the heart, and that prayer is the seed of every revival.

He was a man born for his time, as we have been born for such a time as this.