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Welcoming A Visitation of the Holy Spirit
In Welcoming a Visitation of the Holy Spirit, Wesley Campbell takes a refreshing firsthand look at the renewal movement known as the Toronto Blessing. He combines the expertise of a biblical scholar with the unabashed enthusiasm of someone who's fallen in love with his Savior all over again. Learn •Prophecies in 1984 that pointed to events in Toronto in 1994 •Biblical tests you can use to identify a visitation of the Holy Spirit •The spiritual meanings behind falling down, shaking and laughing •New outbreaks of renewal and the future of the movement
232 pages, Paperback
First published October 4, 1996
About the author
Wesley Campbell
22 books2 followersWesley is the founder of Be A Hero International and a board member of Tell Asia Ministries. He has taught throughout the nations on “Praying the Bible.” Wesley is a very gifted teacher. His passion for revival will inspire you and his teachings on Praying the Bible will change your life and the lives of those around you. He founded and pastored a church in Canada for 30 years. While leading this apostolic center, Wesley, along with his wife, Stacey, traveled to between 50 – 100 cities a year, ministering in over 2000 churches and conferences, spanning 70 countries. As popular conference speakers, they labor to see revival and social justice transform the world. Wesley and Stacey have five grown children and reside in Santa Maria, California.
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December 29, 2024
LAN ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT OF THE TORONTO REVIVAL, AND SIMILAR MOVEMENTS
Author Wesley Campbell wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, “The church of Jesus Christ around the world is currently experiencing what may become one of the most massive visitations of God in salvation history… The following accounts and related teachings will deal primarily with the visitation of the Holy Spirit that I have been privileged to be a part of… I am aware that these times of refreshing have already been developing in Argentina and other isolated spots for some time, but they were not of worldwide proportions… But to bear testimony to the many thousands of locations now ablaze with the Holy Spirit would occupy more time and space than is permissible. Please accept our stories as testimonies as typical of many others… Even as I write this book, reports of renewal and… revival pour in from everywhere.” (Pg. 13-14)
He outlines, “Even in previously hard-to-reach areas such as Mexico, senior church leaders of that nation’s largest network of evangelical churches called to say that the renewal has just begun to hit churches… Countries affected by this awakening now include North America, Britain, Chile, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and many more. Christian leaders in the United States declare that there are more than six thousand significant hot spots where dramatic moves of God have taken place in the span of two years. As of November 1994 reports indicated four thousand churches in England had been affected---including two thousand Church of England parishes… By the end of 1995 the number was up to seven thousand churches affected in England. Since then global statistics have become virtually impossible to track, yet one thing is certain: The world is experiencing a mighty visitation of the Holy Spirit.. Perhaps by proportion it will exceed the Pentecostal revival of the early 1900s.” (Pg. 33)
He suggests, “It is no coincidence that after ten years of what could be described as a mighty outpouring and visitation of God was unleashed in 1994. Since then we have witnessed the largest worldwide revival since the Welsh and Azusa Street movements at the turn of the century. Though many good ministries have functioned over the years with some significant localized results, historians and church watchers are now beginning to record that the year when the world began to be served this new wine was 1994 as it was poured out at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. Then in the spring of 1994 the wine began to flow internationally as England exposed the move to the rest of the world. After eighteen months virtually the whole Christian world knew of the move dubbed the Toronto Blessing, which by then had already impacted tens of thousands of churches. At the time of this writing, over two hundred nations have been touched by the new wine.” (Pg. 42)
He summarizes, “Through the various spokespersons God had revealed a time: 1994. Through prophecy a specific place had been revealed: Toronto, Canada. God had identified some sovereign vessels… who would be used to bring a great wave of refreshing to the Vineyard. Finally, the Lord said it would go out to touch the entire world. Never before in the history of Canada had anything like this ever happened. Even after two-and-a-half years the meetings continued. Throughout year two about one thousand people attended every weeknight … and about two thousand people attended on weekends. Virtually every nation in the world with a Christian witness has been affected directly or indirectly by this one specific visitation. God had said it would happen before it ever happened, so that we would not doubt that this is His ‘kairos’ time---His season to bless the earth.” (Pg. 47)
He acknowledges, “For years I believed that Pentecost was about tongues. But in this present renewal I have noticed many people receiving an impartation for prophecy, or at least some form of revelatory ability. I went back again to study Acts 2. I was surprised to realize that prophecy, or revelation was the main evidence that the Spirit was poured out on all people. The interpretation that Peter assigns to the miracle of tongues is prophecy, visions, and dreams (vv. 17-18)… The dispensational line of interpretation might say that Pentecost was a one-time event, not to be repeated. While we agree that Pentecost will not be repeated, does that also mean that the properties of a visitation of the Holy Spirit are also to stop with the apostles? I think not… Almost all modern scholarship is now unanimous in acknowledging that the perfect… is the second coming… After Pentecost, revelation became a gift for the whole church.” (Pg, 62-63)
He asserts, “In the non-Western world, the view of reality includes a working relationship with the supernatural world. Not surprisingly, they can operate in it. To a great extent the Western church does not and has not believed for or cultivated a ministry of the supernatural. In the West we have an anti-supernatural worldview that lacks the ‘believing is seeing’ kind of faith. Thus, it leads largely to a powerless Christian practice… Many Western Christians are practicing deists due to their cessationist, anti-supernatural worldview which affects their beliefs about Scripture..." (Pg. 77-78)
He notes, “So what about the question, ‘Where do we find it in the Bible?’ … [This] may be asking one of two things: 1) Can we verify these experiences with exact Bible verses or proof texts?; or 2) Are these experiences in accordance with clear biblical principles? The Bible contains primary texts that tell us what to believe and do---these are normative teachings. They are specific Bible verses that verify certain experiences and beliefs. However, the Bible also contains secondary texts that describe experiences and events that are biblical and may be repeatable but are not necessarily normative… these secondary texts may legitimize similar activities having an exact duplication of a given situation.” (Pg. 91)
He recounts, “The accounts of Azusa Street Revival contain descriptions of every kind of manifestation taking place today, including shaking, speechlessness, motionlessness, being enraptured, drunk in the Spirit, holy laughter, visions, tongues, prophecy and the like. True, I’m sure exaggerated examples can be found for each phenomena, which is to be expected. Yet to deny the countless testimonies of the overall authentic move of the Spirit in the light of historical observation is to deny the most potent spiritual force to propel the church in the twentieth century… To embrace the phenomena accompanying the most recent wave of the Spirit released in 1993 and 1994 is to embrace revival history.” (Pg. 141)
He argues, “the Holy Spirit is not bound by our bodies. He is both in us and comes upon us. He moves through us, and He moves upon others independent of us. It is precisely this ongoing tension of theology which accounts for the great controversy of the ‘second blessing.’ Early second blessing proponents believed that a special post-conversion endowment of power from on high was necessary for sanctification and power… Experientially the idea was right, but the semantics were wrong. We need more than a post-conversion baptism in the Spirit or second blessing. We need a third blessing, and a fourth, and a fifth and so on. Many fillings. But like these earlier pioneers in the Spirit we have found these many fillings, anointings or impartations may come down from above for a work of power as well as bubble up from within. We should expect more in the new covenant---not less.” (Pg. 154)
He recounts how John Wimber (of the Vineyard movement) told him, “Wesley, I’ve had many, many prophetic or so-called prophetic words given to me---hundreds of them. I can count on two hands those words that were actually the Word of the Lord in season. Unless a pastor is strong enough… it may prove more of a bane than a blessing.” He comments, “the point is clear: Much of what is given in the name of the Lord isn’t! Yet when it is the Lord, it is powerful… The tension of expecting a mess along with blessing should not surprise us… If we are going to do the works of the kingdom we must expect problems along with the harvest… It takes an even larger shovel to scoop up the mess of wrong prophecies and non-prophecies. There are always those who think they are prophets when they aren’t. Then there are those who have a mixture of true revelation and their own ‘stuff.’ ” (Pg. 165-166)
In Appendix B, he includes a transcript of a controversial prophecy given by his wife Stacey, which was strongly criticized by persons such as Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute.
Persons who support movements such as the Toronto Vineyard may enjoy this book, while others will note that the Toronto revival is now somewhat passé.
Author Wesley Campbell wrote in the Introduction to this 1996 book, “The church of Jesus Christ around the world is currently experiencing what may become one of the most massive visitations of God in salvation history… The following accounts and related teachings will deal primarily with the visitation of the Holy Spirit that I have been privileged to be a part of… I am aware that these times of refreshing have already been developing in Argentina and other isolated spots for some time, but they were not of worldwide proportions… But to bear testimony to the many thousands of locations now ablaze with the Holy Spirit would occupy more time and space than is permissible. Please accept our stories as testimonies as typical of many others… Even as I write this book, reports of renewal and… revival pour in from everywhere.” (Pg. 13-14)
He outlines, “Even in previously hard-to-reach areas such as Mexico, senior church leaders of that nation’s largest network of evangelical churches called to say that the renewal has just begun to hit churches… Countries affected by this awakening now include North America, Britain, Chile, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and many more. Christian leaders in the United States declare that there are more than six thousand significant hot spots where dramatic moves of God have taken place in the span of two years. As of November 1994 reports indicated four thousand churches in England had been affected---including two thousand Church of England parishes… By the end of 1995 the number was up to seven thousand churches affected in England. Since then global statistics have become virtually impossible to track, yet one thing is certain: The world is experiencing a mighty visitation of the Holy Spirit.. Perhaps by proportion it will exceed the Pentecostal revival of the early 1900s.” (Pg. 33)
He suggests, “It is no coincidence that after ten years of what could be described as a mighty outpouring and visitation of God was unleashed in 1994. Since then we have witnessed the largest worldwide revival since the Welsh and Azusa Street movements at the turn of the century. Though many good ministries have functioned over the years with some significant localized results, historians and church watchers are now beginning to record that the year when the world began to be served this new wine was 1994 as it was poured out at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. Then in the spring of 1994 the wine began to flow internationally as England exposed the move to the rest of the world. After eighteen months virtually the whole Christian world knew of the move dubbed the Toronto Blessing, which by then had already impacted tens of thousands of churches. At the time of this writing, over two hundred nations have been touched by the new wine.” (Pg. 42)
He summarizes, “Through the various spokespersons God had revealed a time: 1994. Through prophecy a specific place had been revealed: Toronto, Canada. God had identified some sovereign vessels… who would be used to bring a great wave of refreshing to the Vineyard. Finally, the Lord said it would go out to touch the entire world. Never before in the history of Canada had anything like this ever happened. Even after two-and-a-half years the meetings continued. Throughout year two about one thousand people attended every weeknight … and about two thousand people attended on weekends. Virtually every nation in the world with a Christian witness has been affected directly or indirectly by this one specific visitation. God had said it would happen before it ever happened, so that we would not doubt that this is His ‘kairos’ time---His season to bless the earth.” (Pg. 47)
He acknowledges, “For years I believed that Pentecost was about tongues. But in this present renewal I have noticed many people receiving an impartation for prophecy, or at least some form of revelatory ability. I went back again to study Acts 2. I was surprised to realize that prophecy, or revelation was the main evidence that the Spirit was poured out on all people. The interpretation that Peter assigns to the miracle of tongues is prophecy, visions, and dreams (vv. 17-18)… The dispensational line of interpretation might say that Pentecost was a one-time event, not to be repeated. While we agree that Pentecost will not be repeated, does that also mean that the properties of a visitation of the Holy Spirit are also to stop with the apostles? I think not… Almost all modern scholarship is now unanimous in acknowledging that the perfect… is the second coming… After Pentecost, revelation became a gift for the whole church.” (Pg, 62-63)
He asserts, “In the non-Western world, the view of reality includes a working relationship with the supernatural world. Not surprisingly, they can operate in it. To a great extent the Western church does not and has not believed for or cultivated a ministry of the supernatural. In the West we have an anti-supernatural worldview that lacks the ‘believing is seeing’ kind of faith. Thus, it leads largely to a powerless Christian practice… Many Western Christians are practicing deists due to their cessationist, anti-supernatural worldview which affects their beliefs about Scripture..." (Pg. 77-78)
He notes, “So what about the question, ‘Where do we find it in the Bible?’ … [This] may be asking one of two things: 1) Can we verify these experiences with exact Bible verses or proof texts?; or 2) Are these experiences in accordance with clear biblical principles? The Bible contains primary texts that tell us what to believe and do---these are normative teachings. They are specific Bible verses that verify certain experiences and beliefs. However, the Bible also contains secondary texts that describe experiences and events that are biblical and may be repeatable but are not necessarily normative… these secondary texts may legitimize similar activities having an exact duplication of a given situation.” (Pg. 91)
He recounts, “The accounts of Azusa Street Revival contain descriptions of every kind of manifestation taking place today, including shaking, speechlessness, motionlessness, being enraptured, drunk in the Spirit, holy laughter, visions, tongues, prophecy and the like. True, I’m sure exaggerated examples can be found for each phenomena, which is to be expected. Yet to deny the countless testimonies of the overall authentic move of the Spirit in the light of historical observation is to deny the most potent spiritual force to propel the church in the twentieth century… To embrace the phenomena accompanying the most recent wave of the Spirit released in 1993 and 1994 is to embrace revival history.” (Pg. 141)
He argues, “the Holy Spirit is not bound by our bodies. He is both in us and comes upon us. He moves through us, and He moves upon others independent of us. It is precisely this ongoing tension of theology which accounts for the great controversy of the ‘second blessing.’ Early second blessing proponents believed that a special post-conversion endowment of power from on high was necessary for sanctification and power… Experientially the idea was right, but the semantics were wrong. We need more than a post-conversion baptism in the Spirit or second blessing. We need a third blessing, and a fourth, and a fifth and so on. Many fillings. But like these earlier pioneers in the Spirit we have found these many fillings, anointings or impartations may come down from above for a work of power as well as bubble up from within. We should expect more in the new covenant---not less.” (Pg. 154)
He recounts how John Wimber (of the Vineyard movement) told him, “Wesley, I’ve had many, many prophetic or so-called prophetic words given to me---hundreds of them. I can count on two hands those words that were actually the Word of the Lord in season. Unless a pastor is strong enough… it may prove more of a bane than a blessing.” He comments, “the point is clear: Much of what is given in the name of the Lord isn’t! Yet when it is the Lord, it is powerful… The tension of expecting a mess along with blessing should not surprise us… If we are going to do the works of the kingdom we must expect problems along with the harvest… It takes an even larger shovel to scoop up the mess of wrong prophecies and non-prophecies. There are always those who think they are prophets when they aren’t. Then there are those who have a mixture of true revelation and their own ‘stuff.’ ” (Pg. 165-166)
In Appendix B, he includes a transcript of a controversial prophecy given by his wife Stacey, which was strongly criticized by persons such as Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute.
Persons who support movements such as the Toronto Vineyard may enjoy this book, while others will note that the Toronto revival is now somewhat passé.
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