The "Latter Rain" Revival
North Battleford, Saskatechewan, 1948.

The "Latter Rain" Revival is named after an Old Testament prophesy which refers to the "Former rain and the Latter rain" (My capitalisation). It happened from and through a series of tent meetings in an obscure little town in the Canadian region of Saskatchewan during the northern summer of 1948. These meetings were conducted by a group of God-fearing folk who called themselves "The Sharon Brethren" who were invaded by people from all over America and other parts of the world, with thousands in attendance at a time.

In the ensuing fifty-two years much has happened to amplify and modify what those who attended believed the Holy Spirit was starting to do amongst His people. The visible follow-on from that revival - if it were indeed a revival, and I personally believe that it was God moving - has become an outlook and approach to God that seems to be a very me-centred instead of God-centred outlook

It appears to concentrate on several key issues... personal prosperity...the exclusive right of the individual to require God to heal them at the snap of the fingers... or indeed a number of the other personal orientated excesses often promoted by Charismatic churches, which have been passed on and enhanced on through various subsequent well known ministries - the "Manifested Sons of God", the "Kansas City Prophets", the "Toronto Airport (Vineyard) Christian Fellowship", the Brownsville (Pensecola) Assemblies of God, or London's Holy Trinity (Brompton) Anglican Church... which are all part of a movement frequently referred to collectively as "The New Wave of the Holy Spirit", "Joel's Bartender" etc.

While in 1948 and through the 50s, 60s 70s and 80s, Pentecostal churches shunned the entire Saskatchewan Revival - which was akin to throwing out the baby with the bathwater in my opinion - now many are falling over themselves in their accepting all the bad bits of it as changed doctrine, for reasons best known to themselves. One looks at Paul's epistle to the Galatians and wonders.

Indeed, the Assemblies of God in Australia, although each is in theory an autonomous congregation, has officially embraced these heretical teachings, "lock, stock, and barrel", and woe betide any Australian AoG pastor or congregation who steps out of the official line pushed by Andrew Evans and his mates - since they aligned themselves with Benny Hinn, Rodney Howard-Browne, Kenneth Copeland and associates - better known as the "Faith Movement" or the "Word of Faith Movement" wherein you are not permitted to draw to your brother's attention any errors he is preaching. This is a worry to many who have left. I was not one, but I personally know a number, and grieve with them for their misled brethren.

Many other churches of non-Pentecostal mainline classification have now embraced these teachings to a greater or lesser degree, through either or both of two "events".

Firstly, participation in the "Alpha" courses designed by Nicky Gumbell, the assistant minister at London's Holy Trinity (Brompton), or secondly the "Hillsongs" annual music conferences staged (now that's a good word!) every July by the Hills Christian Life AoG in Sydney.

Alpha may not be modified under its copyright... you have absolutely no choice but to run the entire course word-for-word with the handbook content, or use their videotapes, or a combination of both.

Nicky Gumbell is the Church of England parish priest responsible for bringing the entire "Toronto Blessing" performance to the United Kingdom, and the Alpha Course he and his associate wrote for his own church to use - now exporting it to many other churches in a giant proseletising effort - appears to me and to a number of others as little short of an apologetic for the beliefs and practices of that grouping of churches.

Hillsongs is an Australian AoG accredited programme, in many ways closely allied with "Youth Alive" which is another ecumenical program sponsored by the Australian AoG. Because the Australian AoG is fully supportive of the Toronto/Pensecola 'thing', it goes without saying that Hillsongs (and also Youth Alive) have to be as well. Their leadership support it, so their leadership will teach it, even if not consciously doing so

Interestingly, the real founder of Hillsongs, Geoff Bullock (who is never mentioned by them now), is no longer an accredited AoG minister, having gone elsewhere around the time of what Andrew Evans called the "New Wave" - perhaps more accurately described by many dissidents as "falling down on the floor and barking like a dog"...

I believe that all Christians should take stock of what their personal attitude to God is, how they perceive and worship Him, and how the leadership of their own church and denominational grouping also stand - in relation to these easily demonstrable heresies.

Actually I have started to write an addition to the growing history on this collection of heretical teachings, adding to the bibliography that currently exists, to explain my personal views on the current perversions of what I believe the Almighty brought to Saskatchewan in 1948.

Coupled with this material in preparation will be what I feel God was really saying to man over fifty years ago, which like many previous moves of the Holy Spirit has once again become packaged in man's ingenious way into self-centred heresy, deceipt and hypocrisy.

So please watch this space - but don't hold your breath, because none of it is anywhere near ready to post on my website yet (grin)

We could do well to ponder the enormous number of churches which are teaching doctrines outside of the bible - because of their use of "Alpha" or "Hillsongs" material - or even both - and who maybe also encourage their youth to go to "Youth Alive" instead of running their own bible-centred youth programme.