…“The Father is the one who sets the fixed dates and the times of their fulfillment. You are not permitted to know the timing of all that he has prepared by his own authority. But I promise you this—the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be filled with power. And you will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces—even to the remotest places on earth!” ~ Acts 1:7-8, TPT

On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place.  Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear! Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of them. They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspired to speak in tongues….~ Acts 2:1-4, TPT

Almost every day, I read a Facebook posting or Twitter tweet in which a professed Christian is praying for or waiting on God to send him, her, the church he or she attends, society, or the world a revival. By revival, most of these posters and tweeps usually mean a spiritual renewal in the life of a church congregation, in the life of an individual believer, or in the life of a society—renewed spiritual life that these posters and tweeps believe will have either a local, or a national, and/or a global effect.

Then too, by revival, a few posters and tweeps also occasionally mean the renewed spiritual interest in (the restoration of) evangelistic meetings that were known as revival meetings. In these restored or renewed evangelistic/revival meetings, the focus would be on the spiritual restoration of the so-called CHURCH from its moral decline to an essential and zealous relationship with God, which would include the spiritual restoration of believers’ faithful obedience to God’s Commandments. In these evangelistic/revival meetings, the focus also would be on the spiritual restoration of lost souls. The latter spiritual restoration actually refers to mass conversions—large numbers of unbelievers being saved so that they can become Christians.

Unfortunately, these posters and tweeps don’t seem to understand that a spiritual revival is not a spiritual restoration. Spiritual revivals have nothing to do with the restored interest in evangelism—the Lord’s method of winning souls for Him—nor do spiritual revivals have anything to do with renewing the CHURCH’s spiritual relationship with God.

Biblically speaking, spiritual revivals, whether local, national, or global, really have nothing to do with Gentiles’ understanding of who Christians are or who/what Gentiles think The Church is. Moreover, every biblical spiritual revival was meant for only the already saved believers in Christ.  

Put differently, the Holy Bible never mentions any spiritual restorations or spiritual revivals that happened to Christians or The Church. That is because, biblically speaking, every spiritual restoration pertained to God turning His wayward nation of Israel as a whole back to Him, as well as pertained to every Hebrew keeping His Commandments. Furthermore, neither the term Christian nor the term The Church is ever mentioned in the Scripture as the names Christ or His initial disciples/apostles gave to believers in Christ. For sure, first-century believers in Christ never called themselves Christians. Scripture proves that first-century followers of Christ were called saints, the brethren, followers of the Way, disciples, or believers in Christ. Since they already were saved believers, their spiritual revivals were not spiritual restorations.

The main reason why spiritual revivals are not spiritual restorations is that spiritual revivals had to do with the outpourings of the Holy Spirit upon members of Christ’s Ekklesiae (His collective bodies of saints or followers of the Way who gathered locally in saints or Way followers’ houses mostly to fellowship with each other). Furthermore, in every first-century Ekklesia, there were ONLY converted, Jewish believers. Now, even though some of these Jewish believers over time either had strayed away from their first love—Father God—or His Commandments, once again, their spiritual restorations were not spiritual revivals because, once again, spiritual revivals had to do with the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. These outpourings only fell on believers in Christ (people who already were reborn and saved souls), but not to restore them. The outpourings of the Holy Spirit provided the necessary power, spiritual gifts, anointing, and authority that reborn and saved believers in Christ had to have so that they could fulfill the Great Commission.

Once more, spiritual revivals have always been the times of vast outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Biblically speaking, there were four great outpourings of the Holy Spirit that are found in the Book of Acts. These four vast outpourings of the Holy Spirit are as follows: 1. upon converted Jews on the Feast of Pentecost (when the 120 Jewish saints who were in Jerusalem were Holy Spirit filled, and then they spoke in tongues—see Acts 2); 2. upon converted Samaritans in Samaria (when Peter and John prayed for the newly converted Samaritans to be filled with the Holy Spirit, laid hands on them, and they were Holy Spirit filled—see Acts 8); 3. upon converted Romans in Caesarea (when Peter preached to the Gentiles who were gathered inside Cornelius’ house, the Holy Spirit filled all of them, and then they all began speaking in tongues—see Acts 10); and 4. upon converted Greeks in Ephesus (when Paul laid his hands on 12 converted Gentile Ephesians, the Holy Spirit filled them, and they began speaking in tongues—see Acts 19).

Please notice that in every one of these mentioned four New Testament huge spiritual outpourings or spiritual revivals the Holy Spirit ONLY poured out on the already reborn and saved souls. In other words, only the already reborn and saved believers were revived, meaning they were fortified or invigorated (strengthened, energized, empowered, and endowed) by the Holy Spirit’s outpourings—His spiritual fillings or spiritual baptisms.

Since the New Testament’s biblical times, there have been countless Pentecost-like Holy Spirit outpourings worldwide. For example, one of the most important Holy Spirit outpourings in the United States of America is the major Pentecost-like Holy Spirit outpouring that happened on Azusa Street in Los Angeles on April 14, 1906.

Be that as it may. No one knows the number of outpourings that will happen before the last ever Pentecost-like Holy Spirit outpouring happens, but the Scripture is clear—there will be an end-time spiritual revival (Holy  Spirit outpouring). In Joel 2:28-29, the prophet Joel speaks specifically about an end-time outpouring of the Holy Spirit; however, there are many biblical prophecy scholars who believe that, according to the apostle Peter in Acts 2, the initial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy has already begun.

What is evident today is that, just like the four great Holy Spirit outpourings that happened in the Book of Acts, God still has been allowing all who follow Christ the opportunity to experience the Gift of the Holy Spirit who not only is continually living within them but also is frequently reviving them—is repeatedly filling/baptizing them so that they can function as anointed, gifted, authorized, and empowered witnesses for Christ. Unfortunately, not all believers have allowed or have wanted the Holy Spirit’s outpouring (spiritual revivals) to fall on them.

Nevertheless, whether a believer in Christ allows or even wants to experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, according to Scripture, spiritual revivals will happen but only when and where there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In other words, spiritual revivals can’t happen if there is no outpouring of the Holy Spirit because only the Holy Spirit’s outpourings are true spiritual revivals. The circular argument was intended.

Lastly,  the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesied Latter Rain or the end-time (climactic) outpouring of the Holy Spirit will only happen in Israel and among Father God’s Jewish people—an overdue spiritual revival. In other words, the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this planet neither will happen in Gentile “churches” nor in what Gentile Christians call The CHURCH, but this prophesied end-time Holy Spirit outpouring will happen in the same nation the first Holy Spirit outpouring took place. By then, the Holy Spirit’s outpourings will have come full circle, ending where they began. Selah . . . . .