(By Eddie Hyatt) Winston Churchill once said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” This is especially true of the church where the same mistakes have been made generation after generation concerning revival and the prophetic. The following information is drawn from a document written around 1560 by Obe Philips, a leader in the sixteenth century Anabaptist movement that sought the restoration of New Testament Christianity. Philips was commissioned as an “apostle” in this movement, and he commissioned others to this “office.” The document, entitled “Confessions,” describes events in Europe in the 1530s. From this document I have delineated five telltale signs from their experience that can help us avoid the tragic mistakes that produced such great suffering and distress for them.
Sign No. 1: When Prophecy is Used for Self-Promotion – 1517-1537 was a very exciting time for many Christians in Europe. A great spiritual reformation was under way, and many believed God was restoring the church to its original purity and power. Many believed that out of this restoration would come a great revival and harvest that would usher in the coming of the Lord and the end of the age. In the midst of this end-time, revival atmosphere, individuals began to arise proclaiming themselves to be special end-time apostles and prophets, endowed by God with miraculous power to usher in His kingdom upon the earth. CONTINUE
