The Asbury Outpouring/Revival/Somethings Going On Autopsy - By Anthony Wade

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Rev. Wade is back with his ugly and obnoxious prose and sour attitude. His perverse glee in pronouncing Asbury as fake is unchristian and frankly, evil. Further, it serves no purpose. It does not edify, build faith, or spur us on to love and good deeds. 

And we should note that as is typical for Rev. Wade, not a single Scripture is quoted or even referenced.

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It was the talk of the charismatic world just a few short months ago. You couldn't get through the day without someone boasting or bragging about this revival going on in Wilmore, Kentucky at Asbury College. (We would request that Rev. Wade cite at least one person who boasted and bragged.)

The long and short of it is that following a scheduled church service, the students refused to leave. (Notice the pejorative language. "Refuse to leave" implies that they should have left.)

Using Christianese, they began 'pressing in." (Rev. Wade does not tell us what is wrong with using such language. When Paul writes...

Ph. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

...was he using Christianese?)

The more they did, the more they seemingly desired God. ("Seemingly." Again, pejorative language. Rev. Wade is doing his best to negate and diminish what might have been a genuine move of God. We will be on the lookout for why he opposes people getting saved.)

The Christian college obliged and gave them more worship, more prayer and an occasional biblical word fragment. One witness stated that when they called the college to ask why this revival was so light on the preached word the answer provided was that they did not feel it was needed. Ouch. Only a Charismaniacal revival could decide the word of the Lord was not needed. (Rev. Wade would need to explain why preaching is always required in a revival, and how much above a "fragment" constitutes proper revival.)

Either way, this desire for the presence of God from the students carried on for almost two weeks until the local folk began complaining that the visitors were taking all of their parking spaces. (The local folks carry a lot of weight with Rev. Wade for some reason. I guess we shouldn't inconvenience the lost with our messy salvations and healings. 

Jonathan Edwards had a man like Rev. Wade attacking him. And his own congregation was not too happy about things, either. But for Rev. Wade, the measure of revival is people on the outside looking in.)

Reflecting on all of the times in the Book of Acts, Paul left town because of parking, the powers that be decided to end the revival. That's right, they decided they had enough of the outpouring of the presence of God because their grocery stores were running low on parking lot spaces. So, they stopped the perpetual services and told God He had to leave. They tried moving God to a larger auditorium in the town proper, but you know how finicky God can be. Thus ended the great Asbury Revival. I mean outpouring. Heck, here ended the Great Something's Going on at Asbury, circa 2023. (This is puerile and beneath reasoned discussion. In a pathetic attempt to mock, Rev. Wade places Paul in the equation in order to suggest that crowds and parking spaces shouldn't end the revival. But didn't Rev. Wade just come down on the side of the local folks? So which is it, should the inconvenience of the revival stop the revival, or should the revival inconvenience the locals?)

With two months now removed, it seems fair to analyze these events since we know others with agendas will soon be framing it to suit their needs. (Irony Alert.)

Let me start with the youth. I do not doubt for a second the zeal or fervor these students had. That said, let us not lose perspective. This was a Christian college. It is a shame that when students at a Christian College decide they want more of Jesus that it becomes a national church issue. (Why is it a shame? That seems like a good thing to us.)

That said, please do not confuse the commentary as a critique on the genuineness of the students. They receive the benefit of the doubt. They were of course used at every turn as their desire for God was hijacked and twisted into a false revival. (So he comes right out and says it: False revival. He has no evidence whatsoever that this was a false revival. He will supply no reason to suggest this. In fact, Rev. Wade cannot know if it was false or true. 

Jonathan Edwards wrote:

If it appears that God has done a special work in someone and then that person falls away into gross errors or scandalous practices, that is no argument that the work in general is not the work of the Spirit of God. That there are some counterfeits is not an argument that nothing is true. Such things are always expected in a time of reformation. Every great revival of the Christian faith has been attended with many such things. Instances of this nature in the apostles’ days were too numerous to be counted.

This of course means that revival is never perfect, the people aren't perfect, yet God can and does move.)

We must first understand the nature of the apostate, NAR, Dominionist church (Ahh, here it is. This is about the NAR, Rev. Wade's obsession. We were wondering when he would drag them in.)

is to chase this mythical state of revival with the misplaced passion that Captain Ahab had for Moby Dick. They pursue this nebulous revival despite the bible promising no such end times event. (Where in the Bible? Seriously, Rev. Wade, where? Is it a secret? Why do you never teach the Bible? You are "reverend" after all.

The Bible tells us

Re. 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Where did this great multitude come from if the church dies out apostate?

Or what about this:

Mt. 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."

Shouldn't it read, "The harvest is sparse?" 

And is this true:

Ac. 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Maybe there just won't be many who call on the name of the Lord, hmmm? 

And surely John is mistaken when he heard this:

Re. 5:13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

And this small group must have been using a big sound system:

Re. 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns." 

What Rev. Wade does not understand is that apostasy does not exclude revival. Both can happen at the same time.)

What the bible does promise is a great end times apostasy, of which they are already leading the way on. (Where in the Bible?)

Why such displaced desire? Because they love this world and the sin it offers. The same reasons the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus. They are in the seats of power in their church system. Reviving this country delays the judgment they know deep down is coming. (Whoa. Hold up a minute. Let that sink in. Rev. Wade is criticizing the NAR because revival will delay judgment. Rev. Wade opposes revival, which means he wants to speed judgment. Revival means salvations, healings, restorations, and the increase of the Kingdom. 

We just read it. This is what Rev. Wade opposes.)

So, they scour the horizon for any sign that can be twisted into this caricature of revival they have in their head. (This is nothing but speculation. He cannot know peoples' motivations, what they might of thought regarding Asbury, or even if they are false "NAR" types. Rev. Wade is simply making it up as he goes, taking us on irrelevant tangents and wild goose chases while throwing around loose accusations.)

They ("They." Those evil, unnamed NAR types. Just like the shadowy groups who pull the strings of government behind the scenes, there is "they" sitting in smoky dark rooms plotting the demise of the Church. 

But wait. The Church is going to apostatize, right? That's what Rev. Wade believes. So why does he oppose the NAR, since the NAR is apparently bringing the apostasy?

In any case, we should be thankful we have Rev. Wade, standing bravely in the face of gale-wind opposition, holding fast to the Truth while simultaneously warning us about fake revivals.

The arrogance of this man's black soul is unseemly.)

did it in 1994 at the Toronto Demonic Outpouring and all we got was the Holy Laughter nonsense. (Again ascending to the judgment seat in heaven, Rev. Wade pronounces with certainty that nothing good came from Toronto.)

In 1995 we saw the Brownsville Kundalini Spirit Infestation. Some say the Toronto Heresy lasted over 12 years and Brownsville at least six years. I guess they had better parking than Wilmore Kentucky. (Rev. Wade is simply a nasty man.)

Even the absurd Lakeland "let me kick you in the face to heal you" Revival lasted seven months. I guess the Lakeland Kroger's Supermarket had a bigger parking lot.

So where did the two-week Asbury Revival go wrong? Other people heard about it. Suddenly everything was couched in supernatural terms. Charisma News ran ten articles per day on it. Doubters were quickly attacked as having no faith. (I doubt anyone attacked doubters in a manner even close to Rev. Wade's incendiary rhetoric.

Having prejudiced the reader against every and any revival, Rev. Wade piles on in a never-ending barrage of half-formed thoughts and gratuitous dismissals.)

An occasional story of healing or exorcism was dropped into the daily banter. Then Greg Locke announced he was going. Then Todd Bentley, formerly of the Lakeland Revival, said he was stopping by too. People from all around Kentucky were flocking to Wilmore to chase the presence of God, which of course they had full access to in their own hometown. (Remember when Rev. Wade wrote, 

"That said, please do not confuse the commentary as a critique on the genuineness of the students. They receive the benefit of the doubt."

Apparently having a change of heart regarding the motives of the attendees, now it is permissible to attack them. They should have just stayed home.)

This seemingly innocuous story about some Christian college kids seeking God become a faux-statement on God and the church today. Was this the great revival the NAR operatives claimed it was? Of course not. The Great Welsh Revival changed things permanently. (Oh. So there was a legitimate revival? How is this possible? Isn't apostasy supposed to prohibit revivals?)

The Azusa Street Revival formed the foundation for what Charismania is today, for better or worse. What fundamentally changed after Asbury? Nothing. (Rev. Wade cannot know this.)

Sure, perhaps there were a few folks who came out of it more dedicated to God than before and praise His mighty name for that! (Rev. Wade walks it back with a grudging and sour rejoicing, which he will not repeat.)

For most though, it was just a two-week break from classes while outsiders tried to convince them (No outsiders were permitted to attend. Asbury declined every one.)

they were ground zero for a dramatic shift in the atmosphere.

The problem is that is the same shift the Charismaniacs are always chasing. But everyone left Wilmore. Locke left to go back to burning books and pretending God votes Republican. Bentley left to pal around with his pet angel Emma and wildly slap people in the face to "impart healing." Charisma News? They packed up and moved onto the next great thing Stephen Strang can write a book about. The sleepy little town of Wilmore went back to sleep. The students of Asbury College went back to class. The residents of Wilmore Kentucky went back clear streets and open parking spots. God? Guess He just moseyed out of town, looking for the next big wave to ride. (A truly nasty and un-called-for tangent.)

Except, does anyone truly believe this is how God operates? (Rev. Wade finally tells the truth. He has no idea how God operates.)

Yes, if you press in you can easily find Him because God is usually not hard to locate. (??? Rev. Wade previously mocked the idea of "pressing in.")

NAR Charismaniacs always portray God in the most mystical, gnostic way possible, but the truth is the opposite. The students at Asbury College were not satisfied with whatever they were being taught so they wanted more. Isn't it sad though that a revival for the word of God never breaks out? (Waaait. Rev. Wade just wrote that the Church faces apostasy, not revival. Now he expects a revival for the Word? Clearly this man's thinking skills are lacking, evidence of an unregenerate mind.)

Instead, it is always this Bethel-esque seeking of presence, which always trumps the word. That is the entire premise of experiential Christianity. So, the minions of the apostate church are constantly pursuing the next experience. Whether it be at a Friday night prayer with an itinerant false prophet or going up for the same altar call each week to make sure you "get yours" and be knocked to the ground. Or maybe it was a two-week carnality-fest disguised as a Christian revival at a sleepy town Christian college. But then I can't park, and I pay state and local taxes to ensure I do, so to heck with this experience. Tell these revival chasing, experience desiring apostate believers it is time for them to go and pack up their false god with them. Next time someone mentions Asbury as a revival, ask them what exactly was revived? It was just another in a long line of experiential, NAR moments packaged as a move of God, marketed as a revival, and sold to the unsuspecting masses as something equal to the word of God, which if you remember, was not needed. (Spiritually bankrupt, and desiring to drag us into the mire of unbelief, hate, and mockery. Well, we're not going.)