“For fifty years (until 1957) the people of the “Pentecostal Movement” have been in the great spiritual contest of “I” vs. “Christ.” All the powers of an earth-overflowing-hell have been pitted against those who have been “baptized” with the Holy Ghost. What for? To keep such in the view, the sight, the SEE-ing of themselves – their greatness, their power, their glory, what they “shall be.” That self-sight and self-glory is the spirit-of-the-world in which is the flame of sin and of death.”
(Meditations in the Revelation, Chapter 14)
So wrote Rex Andrews, one of the early recipients of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1907. Now (2023), we can look back and assess the outcome of that “great spiritual contest” which has continued to rage for the past 115 years.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the 20th century began in Wales in 1907, overflowed at Azusa St in Los Angeles in 1907, and streamed across America and eventually to the ends of the earth within 10 years. Many well-known denominations were formed in its wake, and many faith healers, evangelists, and preachers rose to reach international recognition.
With the help of television in the 1950s, and the additional influence of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, the Pentecostal movement attained heights of popularity unimagined by its founders. How Christ-like are the leaders of it now, in 2023?
To be continued-
Evergreen Center-March 2023 Newsletter
Niels Prip - Blog 
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