p. 3 | An Ancient Revival by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 13, 1902

An Ancient Revival

By Editor

Editorial

An Ancient Revival

IN recounting the mercies which the Lord had shown toward his people at the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, Ezra the priest said: “For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, and to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.” It is instructive to observe what this reviving meant to God’s people. It meant a deliverance from bondage and a coming out of Babylon; and this deliverance from bondage and this coming out of Babylon were simply the preliminary experiences with reference to the work of setting up the house of God and repairing the desolations thereof. The Lord gives a reviving to his people in order that they may be delivered and strengthened for efficient service in establishing his kingdom in the earth.

A New Measure of Life

To revive a person means to impart to him a fresh supply of life if he is already alive, or to recall him to life in case he is dead. The evidence of a revival is found in growth and fruitfulness. To provide for such a revival the Lord has promised: “I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow [“blossom,” the margin] as the vine.” Under the influence of the sun’s warmth and abundant rains the corn (wheat) is now springing up in the fields, and the vines are putting out new leaves and blossoms. The evidences of the great annual revival greet our eyes on every hand, and every growing blade of wheat and every blossoming vine bear a message of encouragement to the people of the Lord. “They shall revive as the corn [wheat], and blossom as the vine.”

The Reviving Power

THERE is only one means of reviving persons or things. “It is only life that can beget life.” A revival calls for the outpouring of new life. Its results are seen in the manifestation of new life. And there is only one life. The same life which revives the wheat and the vine will revive God’s people. “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” Every bursting seed and growing blade is a manifestation of the presence and immediate working of the life of God. “It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth continues her motion round the sun, and produces her bounties.” “It is God who brings the bud to bloom and the flower to fruit. It is by his power that the seed develops ‘first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.’” In these processes of nature we behold the manifestation of the indwelling life.

A Revival Now Needed

WE greatly need a revival just now. There is earnest work to be done in setting up the house of our God, and in repairing the desolations thereof. But first we must be delivered from the bondage of our sins, and there must be a complete coming out of Babylon, and this can be accomplished for us only through the power of the endless life manifested in us. We need to listen again to the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah: “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” It is the power of the indwelling presence which brings a reviving, “and hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” “The Spirit giveth life.” “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive, revive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” It is thus evident that our need of a revival can be met only by receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit is his [Christ’s] representative, and it works to effect transformations so wonderful that angels look upon them with astonishment and joy.” “This promised blessing, if claimed by faith, would bring all other blessings in its train, and it is to be given liberally to the people of God. . . . The church has long been contented with little of the blessing of God; they have not felt the need of reaching up to the exalted privileges purchased for them at infinite cost. Their spiritual strength has been feeble, their experience of a dwarfed and crippled character, and they are disqualified for the work the Lord would have them do. They are not able to present the great and glorious truths of God’s holy Word, that would convict and convert souls through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The power of God awaits their demand and reception.” Let every one who desires the prosperity of Zion pray, “O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years,” and then listen for the message, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” So shall the promise be fulfilled unto us, “They shall revive as the corn, and blossom as the vine.”