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The Gift of Prophecy

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    Evangelicalism and Prophecy

    Evangelicalism developed in the transatlantic world of the seventeenth century. American evangelicalism consisted of contributions from Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism, New England Puritanism, and Continental Pietism (an emphasis upon the heart), with special focus on the importance of conversion. Waves of revivals broke out from the time of Jonathan Edwards (1720s) up and through the American Civil War. Some of the most well-known revivals have been characterized as the “Great Awakening” (which reached a climax during the 1720s through the 1740s) and the “Second Great Awakening” (which reached a climax from the 1790s through the 1830s). Dialogue among church leaders during each of these revivals showcases an ongoing debate over the formation of the canon, sources of authority, and whether or not the canon was closed.GOP 236.2

    The Great Awakening

    Revivalists during the Great Awakening, in particular during the 1740s, imagined that revivals would usher in the imminent kingdom of God. 6Kidd, 267. Such revivals were held in disrepute by the “Old Lights”—such as the Congregationalists and Anglicans—who sought to discredit such religious awakenings. As Puritan heirs they both opposed revival and fought to maintain the borders of the canon. Despite this, dreams and visionary experiences were widespread during the Great Awakening. 7Ibid., 130.GOP 236.3

    The most respected intellectual and ardent revivalist, Jonathan Edwards, paid close attention to the importance of conversion. Such attention bespoke a dramatic shift in theological sensibilities. Edwards strongly resisted any attempts toward an open canon. 8Holland, 6. At the same time he argued for a more open view about the ongoing role of the Holy Spirit. He even acknowledged the possibility of dreams and visions. Sarah Edwards had a series of dreams that he viewed as providential. The proof was in their “enduring godly effects.” Satan could mimic such charismata. 9Kidd, 118, 119. Great care had to be exercised so as to distinguish between true versus false revival.GOP 236.4

    The real challenge for Edwards and other Evangelicals related to those who claimed to receive visions (as opposed to dreams). It was not unusual to get reports similar to the Evangelical preacher Eleazar Wheelock, who encountered numerous visions during his travels. “Faintings and fits” were commonplace in meetings as participants in revivals lost all bodily strength. 10Ibid., 113, 107. Such claims tested the limits of canonical authority and the genuineness of revival. Edwards recognized what was at stake. He advocated for a more moderate Evangelical position.GOP 237.1

    One of the most dramatic cases of radicalism centered upon the career of Hugh Bryan. At one point he claimed to receive visions, but after a series of mishaps finally confessed to being tricked by Satan into claiming prophetic authority. 11Ibid., 79. Edwards felt that most visionaries were merely enthusiasts carried away with their emotions. At worst, some were base fanatics. Eleazar Whee- lock went so far as to argue that extraordinary gifts of the Spirit ceased with the early Christian church. 12Ibid., 180. Thus, among Evangelicals in the Great Awakening, a split arose between moderates (such as Edwards), with regulated revival, juxtaposed against radicals who argued for no regulation (or potential excesses) of revival.GOP 237.2

    If Edwards sought middle ground (a moderate position), George Whitefield was not so concerned about being tainted by radicalism. As the most visible person of the Great Awakening, he spent his life crisscrossing the Eastern Seaboard. The historian Thomas S. Kidd argues that by 1740 Whitefield was “the most famous man in America.” 13Thomas S. Kidd, George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2014), 1. Whitefield displayed a profound openness to the possibility of supernatural dreams or visions, and claimed to at least receive dreams that he believed were God speaking to him. Such revelations were personal in nature and related to spiritual development. Whitefield emphasized the primacy of Scripture and did not view such revelations as a threat, even if they blurred the borders of canonicity. Such openness appears to have contributed, among American Methodists, to an increased openness to dreams and visions during the Second Great Awakening. 14For a discussion of Whitefield, see Kidd, The Great Awakening, 170. GOP 237.3

    The Second Great Awakening

    Conditions during the Revolution not only allowed for revival, but increased theological innovation in the midst of conflict. Perhaps the most significant innovation was the rejection of Calvinist theology. Methodists and Baptists rose to prominence. It is therefore not surprising that more established traditions, heirs of the Puritans who advocated a closed canon, declined. The radicalism characteristic of the Great Awakening in the previous century was accentuated by new waves of revivals characteristic of the Second Great Awakening.GOP 237.4

    Revivalism began to take on many new forms, especially with the frontier camp meeting. Waves of revivals began during the summer of 1800 across southwest Kentucky. During a three-day camp meeting approximately 45 people were converted. Those present considered it as “the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost in the first century.” It paved the way for “The Great Revival” at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, the following summer. 15Barry Hankins, The Second Great Awakening and the Transcendentalists (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2004), 9, 10. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people attended what is considered to be the largest and most famous camp meeting of the Second Great Awakening.GOP 238.1

    In addition to camp meetings, revivals spread under popular evangelists such as Charles Finney (1792-1875). He urged listeners to accept the salvation Christ’s death purchased and to subordinate the will to the Father through the Holy Spirit. Appeals culminated with listeners coming forward to the “anxious bench” to ratify their decision. Conversions were facilitated through the Holy Spirit and careful planning. Finney was so dependent upon the leading of the Holy Spirit that at times he would not know what he was going to speak about until he stepped up to the pulpit. 16Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe, Charles G. Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 35. His Memoir contains copious examples of how “God revealed to me” or how the “Spirit of God made that revelation . . . [through] a direct revelation from God to me.” 17For a compilation, see Daniel R. Jennings, The Supernatural Occurrences of Charles G. Finney (Sean Multimedia, 2009), 9ff. Finney allowed for and even encouraged miracles and the outpouring of the prophetic gift. The possibility of additional revelations he did not view as a threat to the canon of Scripture.GOP 238.2

    In a similar way Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874), perhaps the best-known female revivalist of the Second Great Awakening, affirmed the primacy of Scripture. “My highest and all-consuming desire was to be a Bible Christian,” she famously wrote. “The BIBLE, THE BLESSED BIBLE, IS THE TEXT BOOK. Not Wesley, not Fletcher, not Finney, not Mahan, not Upham, not Mrs. Phoebe Palmer, but the Bible—the holy Bible, is the first and last, and in the midst always. The Bible is the standard, the ground, the platform, the creed.” 18Cited in Hankins, 113. She also allowed for the possibility of miracles, dreams, and revelations. Just like Finney, she did not view such blurred boundaries as a threat to the canon of Scripture.GOP 238.3

    Such an obvious ambiguity, perhaps even to the point of being a contradiction, affirmed the continued gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially healings, dreams, and visions. If the genuineness of such radicalism was debated during the Great Awakening, it was embraced on a much larger scale during the Second Great Awakening. Visions became ubiquitous. The borders of the canon of Scripture, which for many Protestants still frequently included the Apocrypha, were fluid enough to allow for at least an increased openness to prophetic revelations. At the very least, a whole host of innovators sought to fill this vacuum. The possibility of visions was a very real part of American religious life during the Second Great Awakening. Even those who did not receive visions, such as Finney and Palmer, claimed to experience God speaking directly to them during their conversion. Thus the Second Great Awakening, while it affirmed the primacy of Scripture, at the same time marked a new openness on the borders of the canon to prophecy.GOP 238.4

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