James Buchanan said of revival: 'It properly consists in two things: a general impartation of new life and vigour and power to those who are already of the number of God's people; and a remarkable awakening and conversion of souls who hitherto have been careless and unbelieving; in other words, it consists of a new spiritual life imparted to the dead, and a new spiritual health imparted to the living.'
Revival has nothing to do with national temperament or characteristics. It comes to both the staid English lands and to the more excitable Celtic and Latin countries. In his book The Flaming Tongue, Dr. Edwin Orr traces revivals in the first half of the 20th century. He takes us to Wales, England, Korea, Scandinavia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, South Africa, China and Japan.
Revival is a worldwide phenomenon that knows no boundaries. It touches the very fabric of society and not just the religious scene. Orr says of the 19th century revival in Britain: 'Revived evangelicals mobilised opinion and tackled many social injustices, supported modern trade unions and legislated reform of working conditions. None of this was accomplished by force - all of it by verbal persuasion against which the reactionaries could not stand, even though they resisted strenuously. Along with prevention of social injustice came a multitude of agencies created to care for the unfortunate, until at last the very state itself, the still unregenerate society, began adopting the standards of the New Testament as the norm of civilisation.'
