CHRISTENDOM Series: Charismatic

CHARISMATICS

(Evangelical Protestant / Holiness)

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some

will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.
1 Timothy 4:1 NLT

The Charismatic movement (up-tempo worship music, healing & "tongues") is an offshoot of the Holiness movement. In the late 1800's, it started with music & healing as well as being slain in the Spirit", but the tongues aspect didn't start until 1900.
Today charismatic churches are divided into 2 sub-groups: Pentecostal & Apostolic. (The dividing

line has to do with the Trinity /Godhead). Pentecostals are like mainstream Christianity on the topic-- Apostolic are "Oneness" Pentecostals, believing there is only ONE God, using different names based upon the roles He plays. So they baptize in only the name of the Son. (nicknamed "Jesus Only" Churches).
Notice that the first charismatic wave culminated in music styles, healing & tongues. The 2nd wave (of the 60's & 70's-music style & tongues this time around) invaded non-charismatic churches (which either decided to tolerate it - like the Catholics, Orthodox & even Mormons) or they split off form the parent church with the same beliefs except add the charismatic stuff. The 3rd wave (of the 80's & 90's) had to do with primarily charismatic worship style music infiltrating churches. That 3rd wave is the root of congregations that today have a "contemporary" service then a "traditional" service.

---The Rumblings---

* Maria Woodworth-Etter was a major force in the 1880's for charismatic revival. She was given a pastor's license, and began the "slain in the Spirit" antics as well as other manifestations attributed to

the Spirit. Her largest crowd she drew was in Anderson, Indiana - over 20,000. She ended as a Pentecostal preacher in an Indianapolis church until her death in 1924. She claimed she was shown a vision that her preaching would result in people falling on the ground due to the Spirit.

* Next came John Alexander Dowie, who came to fame in 1893, at the world fair in Chicago where he performed healings. By 1900 he had 6,000 followers who joined him in building their own city in Illinois-Zion, Illinois near the border of Wisconsin. He eventually went senile & his movement went bankrupt (partly due to theft). Dowie, who claimed to be a forerunner

of Christ's return--entered into a prayer duel with a Muslim named Ahmad-who claimed to be the promised Mahdi. The one with the truth would die last--Dowie died in 1907-Ahmad in 1908.

---The Counterfeit Latter Rain pours forth---

* On the first day of the new century, 1900,  Charles Parham laid hands on Agnes Ozman at a Holiness meeting in Kansas. She began speaking in tongues. She was speaking Chinese, and for 3 days she couldn't speak English & could only write in Chinese. (As a young woman in Kansas at the time, she had no way to learn all of that-and Chinese, whichever variant, is very hard to learn to write). Others began to speak in tongues, including Parham speaking Swedish.

* Then came Azusa Street, which all Charismatics claim as being heirs of. It was

during the first decade of the 1900's in L.A. started by a black minister William Seymour, who had

met with Parham in Texas and concluded the Spirit was pouring out tongues on the world. So in California he started the modern charismatic movement, with wild music, excited utterances, foreign language tongues at first, which later morphed into the gibberish tongues of today. Also, when Parham came out to visit Seymour, he was shocked by their wildness and that they were even bringing in psychics for séances to talk to the dead. And then there were the old men leaping over chairs, running & lunging through windows, women going into trances and standing on their heads. Parham & Seymour became enemies. Much of this was documented by the L.A. newspapers. Thousands came

from around the world to experience it - & returned home to spread it.
It was here that they were first referred to as "holy jumpers" then "holy rollers".

* At the same time, a charismatic revival, similar to the one at Azusa Street, sprung up in Wales. The Welsh revival was so powerful many bars closed and it was said that the miners refused to even curse at their horses anymore. The movement drifted away after the sour taste of WW 1.

CHRISTENDOM Series Outline Link:
http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2015/06/christendom-series-outline.html