"REVIVAL FIRE" or "STRANGE FIRE"?

This article is derived from the "The Preface" of Eddie's new book, REVIVAL FIRE: Discerning Between the True & the False, now available at www.eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html.

Throughout church history, God has graciously blessed His people with outpourings of the Holy Spirit, i.e., with Revival Fire. These same revivals, however, have been plagued with fleshly and false doctrines and manifestations, i.e., with "strange fire." For example, during the 18th century Methodist revival, John Wesley admitted that‚ "nature mixed with grace" and that, "Satan likewise mimicked this work of God, in order to discredit the whole work."

Historically, there have been two extreme responses to this state of affairs. On the one hand, many have reacted to the extremes by rejecting all revival. On the other hand, others have put their heads in the sand and refused to recognize any wrongdoing or falsehood in revival.

Neither response is reasonable or Biblical. We must take the time and make the effort to learn to discern between the true and the false. When faced with the reality of "strange fire" in the Methodist revival, Wesley expressed confidence that God, "will enable us to discern how far, in every case, the work is pure, and where it mixes and degenerates."

“Strange Fire” Is Offering Worship to God
That is Foreign to His Revelation in Scripture

"Strange fire" in the House of the LORD is not something new. It is older than the New Testament. Leviticus 10:1-3 tells the story of Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron, offering profane fire before the Lord. The Hebrew word translated "profane" in the NKJV literally means "strange" or "foreign." We are not told exactly what they did, but they obviously sought to worship God in a way that was foreign to the manner that had been prescribed by God. As a result, fire went out from the Lord and devoured them.

Fire Speaks of Intensity, Passion & Commitment

Fire is used figuratively in Scripture to refer to extreme passion, enthusiasm and commitment for the things of God. It is also used in reference to the purifying effect of God on the human soul in the same way that fire has a purifying effect on precious metals, such as gold. In Scripture, God often manifests Himself in the form of fire, bringing blessing and affirmation, but also judgment, as with Nadab and Abihu.

There was much fire in the Old Testament worship of Yahweh. There were various burnt offerings that were continually offered in worship on behalf of the Israelites. In fact, Aaron was told that the fire was never to go out on the altar where the burnt offerings were daily offered to the LORD (Leviticus 6:8-13). God often showed His pleasure by sending fire and consuming the sacrifice that was being offered.

“Strange Fire” Brought Judgment

On this particular day, Nadab and Abihu filled their censers with fire as they, no doubt, had done many times in their duties as priests in the Aaronic priesthood. This time, however, they proceeded to act in a manner which He had not commanded them. In other words, they acted in a careless and reckless manner that was foreign or "strange" to the instructions God had given.

Instead of fire coming from the Lord because of His pleasure and consuming the sacrifice being offered, fire came out in judgment and consumed the ones offering the sacrifice. That day both Moses and Aaron realized in a new way the importance of discerning between the true and the false in the worship of Yahweh by carefully adhering to His Word.

Adhering to God’s Word Will Keep Us from Offering “Strange Fire”

The sin of Nadab and Abihu has been repeated throughout church history and again in our day. "Strange fire" is again being offered in the House of the LORD. Yes, it is often passionate and enthusiastic and has a form of godliness, but if examined closely and compared with Scripture, it is found to be inconsistent with what God has prescribed. Those who offer this "strange fire" show contempt for Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians for them to, Learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written" (I Corinthians 4:6, NIV).

The primary tool for discerning between the true and the false is the Word of God. God’s Word is the "canon," i.e., the "standard" or "rule‛"by which everything else is to be measured. If we are to adequately discern between the true and the false, we must, therefore, become diligent students of the Word of God. The Charismatic Movement has fallen short in this regard, as is borne out by the following study by George Barna.

We Must Recover a Biblical Worldview

A recent study by evangelical sociologist, George Barna, demonstrates how the American church and culture have moved away from a Biblical worldview. According to this study, only 9% of Americans hold a Biblical worldview, i.e., only 9 out of every 100 Americans derive their beliefs and values from the Bible.

When Barna looked specifically at professing, born-again Christians, he found very little change in the statistics. He found that only 19% of born-again Christians in America hold a Biblical worldview. As part of this study, Barna interviewed 601 senior pastors nationwide, representing a random cross-section of Protestant churches, and found that only half of the nation’s Protestant pastors hold a Biblical world-view. (See www.barna.org.) This lack of Biblical truth in the Church has opened the door for "strange fire" once again in the House of God.

We Must Know God and His Ways

We can close the door on "strange fire" by familiarizing ourselves with God and His ways. How can we do this? We can do this by diligently applying ourselves to the study of His Word. The famous British evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth, once said, "I cannot know God by feelings and impressions. I can only know God by His Word." Too much of what we have called revival seems to have been based on feelings and impressions rather than the Word of God.

I have written this book because I believe the church in America is in desperate need of a Spiritual awakening that is based in Scripture. I have written this book because those who are longing for genuine Revival Fire must be equipped to discern between the true and the false when such revival comes.

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Below is the Table of Contents for REVIVAL FIRE:
Discerning Bewteen theTrue & the False

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Preface 5

1. Marked by Revival Fire 11

2. Why the Church Needs a Biblical Revival 21

3. What It Means to Think Biblically‛ 29

4. What Is Biblical Revival? 39

5. An Old Testament Biblical Revival 45

6. Jesus & the Word of God 51

7. The Early Church & the Word of God 59

8. The Dark Ages: No Bible, No Revival 69

9. Martin Luther and Biblical Reformation 93

10. Historical Examples of Biblical Revival 97

11. Emergence of the Professional Revivalist 108

12. The Tragedy of Revival without the Bible 116

13. Understanding Spiritual Manifestations 126

14. Biblical Leadership for Revival 136

15. Beyond Revival: Seek the Lord and Live 148

Bibliography 157

About the Author 158

Endorsements 159

Resources 160