Renewal - October 1996
Bert Osborn, who wrote Fire in the Hills, the story of the East African revival, went to Rwanda as a missionary and found that the revival had ceased there. He concluded that revivals have a purpose and that God intends each revival to end when this is fulfilled. His book offers a theory of revival and is demanding in its conclusions. In a genuine revival, he claims, the whole of a society is evangelised, becoming aware of the claims of Jesus.
David Parratt - European Christian Bookstore Journal, October 1996
The first half of this book is a review of revivals around the world over the last 300 years, including the one in East Africa, where the author was personally involved. His purpose is to show that revival is 'God's Spotlight', showing us what are the key elements of the Christian life, the things we should be majoring on whether we are living in revival times or not.
Book Description
Religious revivals are intended by God as temporary. That's contrary to the enthusiastic revivalist teaching, but the thesis is born of the experiences of the author during the East African Revival - and checked by reference to the history of other revivals. God sends revivals to tell us something specific.
From the Publisher
For conservative evangelicals, who see revival as 'their' word.
From the Back Cover
Too many people believe that Revival is the ideal state towards which Churches should tend. H H Osborn shows from history that revivals come unpredictably, as a gift of grace to an errant and apethetic church. This cogently argued book gives historical and biblical support to those of us who, while longing for true revival, view with concern some of the current claims.
About the Author
the author is a former missionary and retired lecturer in Mathematics at London University. He runs his own publishing house, Apologia Publications in Winchester.
