• Revivals In The Bible

  Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 20, 2023 (message contributor)

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  Scripture:  Psalms 85:6

  Tags:  Holy Spirit, Revival, Repentance, Return, Awakenings  (view more)  (view less)

  Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A revival is a return to spiritual health after a long period of sin, darkness and apathy. It is a restoration of the soul of an individual, family, church or nation back to right relationship with the Lord. Some of these recorded revivals listed by the author are more evangelism than revival, such as in the case of Jonah, but it also described a nation returning to the one true God.

OLD TESTAMENT REVIVALS

1700 B.C. Revival Under Jacob

1462 B.C. Revival Under Moses

1372 B.C. Revival Under Joshua

1374 B.C. Revivals in the Book of Judges

1074 B.C. Revival Under Samuel

916 B.C. Revival Under King Asa

879 B.C. Revival Under Elijah

870 B.C. Revival Under Jehoshaphat

767 B.C. Revival at Nineveh Under Jonah

727 B.C. Revival Under King Hezekiah

623 B.C. Revival Under King Josiah

521 B.C. Revival Under Zerubbabel, Haggai, and Zechariah

458 B.C. Revival Under Ezra

432 B.C. Revival Under Nehemiah

NEW TESTAMENT REVIVALS

26 A.D. Revival Under John the Baptist

27 A.D. Revival Under Jesus and His Disciples

27 A.D. Revival in the Samaritan Village of Sychar

30 A.D. Revival on the Day of Pentecost

31 A.D. Revival in Samaria Under Philip

37 A.D. Revival in Caesarea Under Peter

42 A.D. Revival at Antioch

48 A.D. Revivals During Paul’s 1st Missionary Journey

49 A.D. Revivals During Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey

53-57 A.D. Revivals During Paul’s 3rd Missionary Journey

As we read through the revivals recorded in the Bible we can quickly see commonalities among them. In his book Revival Fire, Geoff Waugh lists nine similarities among Biblical revivals:

* They occurred in times of moral darkness and national depression.

* Each began in the heart of a consecrated servant of God who became the energizing power behind it.

* Each revival rested on the Word of God, and most were the result of proclaiming God’s Word with power.

* All resulted in a return to the worship of God.

* Each witnessed the destruction of idols where they existed.

* In each revival, there was a recorded separation from sin.

* In every revival the people returned to obeying God’s laws.

* There was a restoration of great joy and gladness.

* Each revival was followed by a period of national prosperity.

Ideally, we should never have to pray for revival, as the Lord would have us live in a perpetually revived state. The early church (during the New Testament era) lived in continuous revival. The believers were dynamic—although, as the epistles clearly reveal, they were not faultless. That gives us great hope today!

- Chet Swearingen