Do we find revival in the New Testament?
Revive.” Literally, to live again. Life from death. The very word radiates hope. The Old Testament contains a record of several revivals among the people of God. There are certain elements common to all of them: the Lord’s people had turned away from Him, but the Lord raised up leaders to bring the people back to Himself.
The New Testament, however, gives us a little different slant on the concept. The root idea is the same, but the form of revival varies. This is partly due to the fact that the New Testament covers a relatively brief period of time. The people had just been “vived.” Most of them hadn’t had the time to get unvived yet, much less revived. Still, life from death lies at the heart of the New Testament.
Resurrection.
Of all of the miracles of the Lord Jesus, we look upon the four resurrections He performed (Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, Lazarus, and—most wondrous of all—His own) as the pinnacles. Curing illness is one thing. Conquering death is another matter. Or so we would think. Yet every time the One who is the Life met death, the result was the same: Life triumphed over death. The Lord entered into these scenes of ultimate sorrow and despair and transformed them into eternal beacons of hope and joy. Life from death. Revival. Yet, as glorious as the first three of those resurrections were, do we stop to consider that they are but illustrations of a greater revival?
You must be born again.
What greater revival is there than when the Lord takes men, women, and children who are spiritually dead and infuses them with spiritual life? This is absolutely essential (hence the word “must”) for “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). Without spiritual life, physical life is empty and eternity is a horror. Once again, Christ is the only source of revival. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Ac. 3:19).
Which brings us to the Last Revival.
Peter’s revival message doesn’t end at verse 19. He goes on to say, “And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Ac. 3:20f). These verses don’t look back at the historical resurrections performed by the Lord, nor at the current need for spiritual rebirth, but forward to the return of Christ. We understand that, in their context, they refer to Israel’s hope at Christ’s second coming. But don’t they also remind us of our great hope?
“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible…Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:51-54)
Life from death. We read of past revivals, and perhaps we wish we had experienced them. Certainly we would love to see revival in the church today. But we can take comfort in this: regardless of what else is on the agenda, the Lord has one last revival planned for His people. It won’t be localized. It won’t be temporary. It will span heaven and earth and stretch across time and into eternity. And not one of us will miss it.