What is biblical revival? If you ask many American pastors (as I have) you’ll get a common answer: record Bible sales and app downloads. To Americans, steeped in capitalism, this is a perfectly logical answer. Success can be measured in dollar signs and engagement metrics. Because the Bible, a Christian product, is being purchased and downloaded onto a billion devices, Christianity, capitalists claim, is having a revival.
Let’s pause for a moment. Locked in a discussion about this a few months ago, someone replied, “Isn’t a lot of bibles a good thing? How can you say a lot of bibles is bad?”
This is the first important distinction we have to make: Just because something isn’t a “revival” doesn’t mean that thing is bad. The word “revival” is not a synonym for “good.” Rather, a revival in the Christian context refers to a period of intense religious fervor that has historically led to significant changes in theology or the emergence of new denominations.
Here are some examples of past revivals. The First Great Awakening impacted Britain and the American colonies as Protestant Christians emphasized a new birth of Christ that changed your heart, not just your behavior. The Assemblies of Brethren emerged in 1800’s Dublin as a rebut to high church structures and a conviction to obey the Bible instead of Church doctrine. In 1800’s America, The Second Great Awakening was marked by an increase in baptisms, a change in mindset, and an increase in abolitionism. The Third Great Awakening saw an emphasis on prohibition, abolition, and the emergence of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christian Science as Christians sought greater and greater influence of the Holy Spirit. The Hebrides Revival in the mid 1900’s saw Lewis islanders spontaneously attending churches to repent and flee alcoholism.
You’ll notice, perhaps, in these examples, that quantity does matter. There is often a marked quantitative difference before and after a revival in the number of believers or the occurrence of Christian services or projects. However, the most important consequence of a revival in the Christian context is a difference in depth and fervor. To be classified as a revival by Church historians, the event or historical period needs to have a spiritual depth uncharacteristic of the contemporary time. To put this idea back in our context, increased Bible sales and app downloads may indicate a Christian revival, but a sheer increase in numbers is not the only metric of importance. To be a revival, these downloads and sales would need to be associated with increased religious fervor.
In other words, having a Bible, and immersing yourself in scripture, are two different things. Here’s how the early church described Pentecost:
“All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”
Acts 2:12-21 NRSVue
What do you notice about this passage? Yes, there are certainly quantitative metrics here. There are many people involved in the coming of the Holy Spirit. There are many languages being spoken. However, over and above the number, is the depth the presence of the Holy Spirit brings. Early Christians are so fervent in the Spirit that witnesses mistake them for being drunk. This harkens back to the priest Eli confusing a desperately pleading Hannah as being drunk.
When revival is happening, when spiritual fervor is real and honest, a change so profound sets in that outsiders need to find a way to explain it, or get caught up in the throes of repentance and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Be warned against the god of capitalism confusing you that numbers implicitly imply success. Becoming caught up in the way of Jesus is about more than an app download or a purchase at the bookstore. Becoming caught up in the way of Jesus should and does profoundly impact how we move about the world.
Is more bibles a good thing? I think so! Praise God that scripture is entering the lives of (presumably) more people. But does more bibles mean more fervor? Not necessarily. I hope this is a forewarning of revival to come. However, when we convince ourselves that measuring faith movements is just a numbers game, we cheapen the witness of the saints who have gone before us. We convince ourselves that the work is over simply because someone has access to scripture. Until that scripture sinks in, changes lives, and stirs up the Spirit, you have just simply printed more books.
Don’t be lulled into complacency. Jesus is on the move, yes, but I hope you learn to recognize his presence beyond sales. I pray you come to learn his nearness by his deeds and delights, not simply by how many people know how to spell his name. Please pray for revival, but look for it in signs of people fleeing pornography and extramarital sex, condemning warfare, stirring up the Persecuted Church in Nigeria or North Korea, and Christians who can’t seem to get emotionally or spiritually close enough to Christ.
Like this post? Please share it with a friend! Hate this post? Let us know.
Bryce Van Vleet is the #1 selling author of Tired Pages and Before We All Die Let’s Have One Last Chat by the Fireside. He sells poetry art here and published a collection of poems titled Weak Eyes, and masquerades as the spoken word artist Liihey. You can support him by clicking through blog posts or donating (scroll to the bottom of the page).
Living Beyond 
Leave a comment