The following is adapted from a message that I sent to a friend a long time ago. I am posting it here because of its relevance to two previous blog entries: Real Spiritual Power and Pentecostalism and Cessationism.

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In connection with our discussion on revival, here are several relevant passages from the Bible:

2 Kings 22:11–23:3
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."

Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.

She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’

Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’"

So they took her answer back to the king.

Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets — all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD. The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD — to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

Nehemiah 8:8-9, 13, 9:3
They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law.

They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.

These passages describe the spiritual revivals under the leadership of Josiah and Nehemiah. They demonstrate that true revival involves a revival of a book, namely, the Bible. True revival entails a renewed interest in the Bible and a renewed obedience to its teachings. It can, as in the above two cases, occur without a manifestation of charismata, although it can certainly be accompanied with it. But a revival of charismata without a revival of "the book," then, cannot be considered a true revival, since that which we are "revived" about would remained undefined. We might feel "revived," but would not know what we are so revived about. In reality, it is only a revival of the flesh.

So, if in a "revival," the people involved do not have renewed interest in reading, understanding, and obeying the Bible, then it cannot be a true or long-lasting revival. It may mean that God is generous with spiritual gifts, but the people’s hearts have not really turned back to him. One cannot turn back to God without turning back to "the book," since even the meaning of turning back to God is defined by "the book." No revival can even say that it emphasizes repentance but not doctrine, since repentance is a doctrine (Hebrews 6:1, etc.), and it, again, remains undefined unless you turn back to "the book."

Thus the power of God is not unleashed in or by stomping, yelling, barking, crying, falling, or foaming at the mouth, but it is released as the mighty hammer of God even as a minister calmly reads the Scriptures to the people, "making it clear and giving the meaning," and providing the occasion and the means by which the Spirit of God performs all that he pleases. And when the people will stand "for a quarter of the day" to hear the Word of the Lord, and "another quarter" in confession and in worship, then we shall know that the true revival we have longed for has already started.

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