Revival Manifestations and Phenomena

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). Revivals often come with some unusual manifestations, such as intensity of emotion at conversion, an outpouring of spiritual gifts, and various signs and wonders. At least, these manifestations seem unusual to most people. Therefore, I felt it would be beneficial to help prepare you for phenomena that may become apparent during your journey toward revival breakthrough. As you exercise discernment, be open to receiving all God has for you.

Revival phenomena have manifested since the day of Pentecost, but the Bible predicts that, in the last-days outpouring, they are going to increase. Are such phenomena biblical? Are they of God? Or are they contrary to God and His Word? Here is the bottom line: we don't want them if they’re not of God. If they are of God, we want them because we need to know what God is doing in them, through them, and alongside them. We can’t afford to miss what God is doing just because we don’t understand it.

Properly Discerning Revival Phenomena

The main issue in either accepting or rejecting manifestations is properly discerning the phenomena. As John wrote:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 John 4:1)

We need to study and test the spirits. Always look to the Lord and trust that He will show you which manifestations are genuinely from Him.

Is It Biblical?

The living Word of God is always our final authority in such matters. The Bible is dynamic, not just in relation to the historical contexts of its books but also in its ability to authoritatively speak to people in every period of history, including our own. The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scriptures, and He communicates to us today through the Bible:

All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Scriptural Precedents

The initial test to determine if a manifestation is biblical is to look for precedents or examples of that manifestation in Scripture. The biblical record shows many people having powerful encounters with God, often with evident physical and emotional effects. These effects are remarkably similar to those experienced by people in the revivals of church history and today’s moves of the Spirit. That is why a biblical study of physical effects can be fruitful.

Scriptural Principles

If there are no such precedents for a particular manifestation, we must ask: “Is the phenomenon consistent with biblical principles?” If there are clear biblical examples, the situation is relatively easy. But even if there are no biblical examples of something, it does not mean it is unbiblical, as long as it is consistent with principles drawn from the revelation of Scripture.

Of course, we must also carefully examine the question, “Are there any biblical reasons why a particular manifestation may not be of God?” Some examples would be if a phenomenon glorifies people rather than the Lord or pulls people down in fear or discouragement rather than lifts them up to the Lord.

Are We Listening to Both Word and Spirit?

The Word of God has a unique relationship with the Spirit of God. There is no competition between them; rather, they are in divine cooperation with one another. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit illuminated believers’ minds to the Scriptures' truths and God’s will.

Thus, while we always look to the Word, we also look to the present illumination of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul understood the necessity of receiving revelation from the Holy Spirit to grasp a proper interpretation of spiritual truths. He emphasized this point in Ephesians 1:17–18:

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

Are the Fruits Good?

Once it is generally established that a practice or an experience is bibli­cal, it may still not be clear whether a particular experience is actually from God. That is why the Bible puts forward other tests. Ultimately, we must ask the question, regarding any manifestation or phenomenon, “Is there good fruit in relation to it?”

Jesus said the following about false prophets who were to come:

Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree [eventually] bears bad fruit.… So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:17, 20)

Jesus was not directly speaking about spiritual phenomena when He made these statements. However, the principle that Jesus applied to false prophets can also be applied to spiritual experiences. Any experience, even though it may be judged as biblically allowable in itself, must be rejected if it does not pass the test of good fruit.

Jesus made this very point at another time when He stressed that certain miraculous phenomena of prophecy, demon expulsion, and signs and wonders, though biblical in themselves, were actually not from Him because those who practiced them did not have a relationship with Him. (See Matthew 7:21–23.) Surely, Jesus was warning His followers that whether a phenomenon was outwardly a biblical practice could not determine whether that spiritual activity was from God. There must be additional evidence of fruit.

Let us remember that gifts are given while the fruit is grown. God freely gives gifts according to His sovereign will, not because of our good performance but as a demonstration of His great grace. Gifts may be given immediately, while fruit develops through cultivation over some time. Therefore, the fruit test often requires observation over various seasons for confirmation.

Over the centuries, there have been many accounts of good fruits resulting from experiences with God among very diverse movements. These fruits ranged from physical and emotional healings to restored mar­riages and many other positive changes in lifestyle. A particularly notice­able good fruit was a deepening spirituality of the heart and soul. People have testified to experiencing a greater love for Christ, a greater desire for the Word, prayer, and Christian community, and an increasing readiness to be an effective witness of the gospel.