The Four Winds in Revival History Part 2: The East Wind Revivals

Last week, we started our revival history discussion with the introduction of the Four Winds of Ezekiel 37:1-10. Each of those four winds, which are sent from heaven, East, West, North, and South, has a distinct characteristic and purpose. Today, let's look at the EAST WIND.

This Revival wind of the Holy Spirit is corrective and confrontative in nature. Pharaoh and Egypt were disciplined for their refusal to let God's people leave. The Lord's response was to send an East Wind that brought locusts (Ex. 10:13). The shock, difficulties, and sorrow of what that wind produced brought Pharaoh to, at least, a temporary repentance (Ex. 10:16-17).

In looking at past historical revivals, I observe that many, if not most, Western World revivals had a strong East Wind component. The most recent East Wind move of the Spirit, which began on Father's Day, June 18, 1995, is the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida. These meetings were led by John Kilpatrick and Steve Hill. The presence of God fell, and regular, almost nightly meetings lasted until 2000. Much of the preaching was a call to holiness, confrontative in nature regarding carnality, and calling forth repentance toward God and your fellow man. There were multiple trumpeted exhortations in preaching to examine and search your heart for deception and darkness to find freedom.

Steve Hill would, at times, walk around the platform in dark sunglasses and a blind man's cane during sermons as a living illustration that the church is walking in spiritual blindness due to our compromise with the spirit of the world and our own uncrucified, fleshly nature. Deep conviction at this awareness would fall on people's hearts as they ran to the altar for cleansing and a longing to put their self-life on the altar of God. An anointed young lady named Charity James sang, "Come running. Come running to the Mercy Seat " almost nightly, and people flocked to prayer to find mercy for their sins.

Many attending observers, as well as believers, were uncomfortable with these tears and cries of repentance. They had never seen this before. This was a different wind for them. According to some reports, almost 200,000 people repented and received Christ at this revival, and by the year 2000, more than 1,000 students were enrolled at the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry. Many of those young students testified of having been delivered from the spirit of this age and sinful lifestyles and had found a fresh fire for holiness, which they had received at this East Wind Revival.

The First Great Awakening in the 1700s can be traced to a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Charles Finney led a revival 100 years later by using his anointed lawyer's logic as a preacher to show the ramifications of mankind being left to the law of God without the intervention of the merciful blood of Christ for forgiveness and justification. David Wilkerson was, in my opinion, a great East Wind preacher who confronted drug addicts, prostitutes, and alcoholics and then brought them to freedom in the Lord.

The East Wind has its rough moments. In Isaiah 26:8, Isaiah the Prophet said, "You contended with it (sin). He removes it (disobedience) by His rough wind in the day of the EAST WIND. Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob shall be covered. And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: When he makes all the stones of the (false) altar like chalkstones that are beaten to the dust. Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand." The East Wind breaks up false altars and dries up false premises and foundations.

Although it is difficult for me to write this, our dear friends at International House of Prayer in Kansas City are going through an East Wind season presently. Lord, have mercy on all involved.

I hope this hasn't overwhelmed you. The reality of being humans is that we can't stay constantly in the East Wind. We couldn't take it. So the Lord remembers His comforting West Wind, full of grace and restoration. That will be the theme for our next blog.

Blessings all,

Dan Slade