INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS TRUTH?

Under the cross of Jesus, the Roman officer who was in charge of the execution called out, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt. 27:54). After completing his work for the day, this cap­tain reported to his family with great excitement and emotion what he had experienced at this un­usual crucifixion. The seventeen-year old son of the captain was named Quaestus. He possessed something of his father's honest nature. With the zeal of youth, he decided to get to the bottom of the matter.

"I want to find out what the case is with this King of the Jews. Was He a victim of a Roman error in justice? Or did pious fanaticism lead Him to His death?" Quaestus set out on his way. The first man he found was a certain Rabbi Ben Huda. "Rabbi," he asked, "can you tell me who this King of the Jews was?"

"My son, do not call the crucified man by this name. He was a blasphemer, and for this reason He had to die according to the law".

"Of what did His blasphemy consist?" inquired the curious young man further.

"He made himself to be the Son of God. But now do not detain me any longer. I want to go to the temple and thank God for the fact that His honor has been restored". 

Quaestus searched further. He met a colleague of his father, the centurion Aemilius.

"Hello, Aemilius, can you spare a moment?"

"Why not. What do you have on your mind?"

"Have you heard anything about the circum­stances surrounding the crucifixion?"

"Yes, why, all of Jerusalem knows about that."

"What do you think of this King of the Jews?"

"That can be explained quickly. According to Roman law, for the past 200 years agitators, rebels, and political troublemakers have been nailed to the cross. After all, we have to put such rascals out of business".

Quaestus wrinkled his forehead. Ever since hearing the descriptions from his father, he har­bored a secret sympathy for this man who was crucified in the middle of the three crosses.

The young seeker after truth could not rest on this Friday. Late in the evening the streets of Jerusalem became deserted.

Something drove Quaestus to walk once more along the Via Dolorosa. There a sinister-looking man came towards him.

Quaestus deliberated whether he should speak to this man. The opinion of rabbis and officers is not always the most accurate. Does not the opinion of the common people also often come near to the truth?

"Schalom lecha - Peace be with you," Quaestus said to him. He did not use the Roman form of greeting, 'salve', because he saw that he was dealing with a Jewish man.

"You have certainly heard of the frightful thing that happened today?", the young man continued.

"Have I heard of it! It even affects me somewhat personally".

Quaestus pricked up his ears.

"You have something to do with it? What am I supposed to understand by that?"

"This I want to tell you. I am Barabbas. The death sentence was the judgment which was supposed to be for me. Yesterday they took me from my cell and placed me on the stand beside another prisoner. Pilate asked those gathered there, "Whom should I release to you?" The people cried, "Release Barab­bas to us!"

"I did not know what was happening to me. But I really was set free. At first I wandered through the streets of Jerusalem and enjoyed the freedom I had just regained. Then something drew me to the place of execution so that I could look at the un­known man to whom I owed my release. From the distance I gazed at the hanged man and thought: you are hanging there in my place and I am free. I am not the kind of man who places much value on feelings, but this act of substitution gave my life back to me".

Quaestus had listened with great suspense. "Then you must be thankful to this stranger?"

"Of course! I do not know him. I only know that he has saved me. I will not forget that very quickly".

"I thank you Barabbas. Take full advantage of this newly won life!"

The longer Quaestus searched for witnesses, the stronger grew his sympathy for the crucified man, the One whom his father called God's Son.

Several days passed. His interest in this matter and his inner unrest did not diminish.

Quaestus remembered that there were men in Jerusalem who maintained that they had been healed by this King of the Jews. Could he not perhaps locate such people?

Quaestus did not succeed in this plan. But through the providence of God he found another point of contact. He had heard that the followers of the Crucified One usually gathered at night be­cause they could then more easily escape the persecution of the Pharisees and the priests. He built his plan on this fact.

During the time of the second night watch he strolled along several streets, always pressing him­self against the houses so that he would be incon­spicuous in the shadows. Then he noticed several men and women furtively entering a large house.

Quaestus stationed himself near the entrance and waited. Again several visitors approached the house. He asked them, "Who lives here?"

No answer! Only inquiring glances met him.

Then still a third group approached. The young man became bolder.

"Is there a meeting in this house? Who lives here? I am not an agent of the authorities or of the Sanhedrin. My father is a Roman officer and be­lieves in the King of the Jews. I would like to hear more about this matter. Can you give me further help?"

This questioning did get results. All the disciples of the Crucified One had meanwhile heard of the believing Roman captain.

A bearded man answered him, "Wait a moment. I want to ask my brother."

The stranger hurried into the house and soon returned. "You may enter. We respect your father."

Quaestus joined the secret gathering of the disciples of Jesus. The atmosphere became unusu­ally lively. Several of the late arrivals declared, "Jesus has risen. He lives. He has appeared to several people".

Other voices expressed doubt: "Was it not a vi­sion? A vision born out of a pious heart?"

"I want proof, proof, otherwise I will not believe it. If I do not see the marks of the nails and put my hands in them, I will not accept it as true."

Quaestus went home late that night. Sleep evaded him. The reports had affected him too deeply. Even the atmosphere which prevailed in this group was so completely different from that among the Romans and the Jews.

What kind of world is this?

Quaestus reviewed this experience with those he met since the day of the crucifixion:

"Blasphemer" - said the rabbi.

"Agitator" - explained the centurion.

"My substitute" - said Barabbas.

"I want proof" - demanded the disciple.

"God's son" - was the opinion of his father.

"And what does this King of the Jews mean for me?" Quaestus asked himself. With this question he finally fell peacefully asleep.

This introductory story reveals Biblical truth mixed together with a legend. In this connection a possible misunderstanding must definitely be avoided and, at the same time, a confession must be made.

The events which are reported in the Bible are not myths and fables but true events, facts in the history of salvation. I believe without reservation in the events in the Bible. But Christian stories and legends have arisen which are outside of the Bible, which are not historical, but still serve to clarify some truth.

The one great truth which is to be found in the Quaestus story is the fact that opinions are divided about Jesus.

Jesus is the touchstone of our innermost attitude. Jesus represents the value of our being. In Jesus we have our salvation or our destruction.

All spiritual events which have their origin in God obviously have the same touchstone charac­ter, be it a miracle, an answered prayer, a divine healing, or even a revival. In this book, this truth will be demonstrated in the problem of four re­vivals.

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REVIVALS AND ANTI-REVIVALS

The second half of the twentieth century has a decidedly eschatological character. Evil is becom­ing ripe unto judgment and the good, the congre­gation of Jesus is experiencing its preparation for the day of the Lord. Revelation 22:11 is being ful­filled today: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still".

Satan knows the character of our time better than most of our university theologians. Therefore, he arranges everything in such a way that he might confuse or thwart the defenses of the disciples of Jesus. This opponent of God is the founder of the anti-revival.

The countermovement occurs in four sectors: in the area of the somatic or physical, of the psychological, of the intellectual, and of the cultic.

A sexual intoxication is sweeping over the earth today and has taken hold of the people as never before. The threshold of Sodom and Gomorrah was crossed already a long time ago.

A psychological intoxication in the form of the movement of speaking in tongues and other ex­treme tendencies is whipping up people who are religiously predisposed. This is not to be misunderstood. I believe in the filling with the Holy Spirit, I believe in the work and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but I emphatically reject all human and demonic imitations.

An intellectual intoxication, the absolutizing of human reason, has taken hold of the educated peo­ple and blocks for them the entrance into the working of the Holy Spirit.

The climax of these anti-revivals is, then, the satanic cults with a religious character which have sprung up in all the major cities of the world. Let us only recall here the black pope in San Francisco, Anton Szandor LaVey. He boasts of having 200,000 members in his church of Satan who have all signed themselves over to the devil with their own blood.

All of this is Satan's strategy of the last days; he has taken up the final battle against the Nazarene.

But the Lord Jesus does not stand passively by. In this time when the gates of hell have opened and myriads of demons have come to plague the con­gregation of Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord is at work just as hard as before in the past 1900 years.

Throughout the world the fire of the Holy Spirit is breaking forth. Large and small revivals are being granted. These are the signs of fire which the returning Lord is igniting. Just as at night the air­port beacons point out to a landing airplane the way to the landing runway, so the Lord announces his coming through many spiritual upheavals.

At no time in church history - with the exception of the apostolic time - have so many spiritual fires been ignited simultaneously as in the twentieth century. I have received from God an undeserved gift in the opportunity of visiting most of the re­vival areas of the world. Everywhere, I came upon the footprints of the risen Lord, who is sending to his congregation a great period of grace.

Kregel Publications has published a series of my reports in book format: Victory Through Persecution (The Korean Revival), Revival in Indonesia, Revival Fires in Canada and World Without Chance?, which includes several reports on the revival at Asbury College.

Here, in this pocket edition I will provide a few excerpts from the revivals in Indonesia, the Sol­omon Islands, Formosa, and Southern India. Those who are familiar with the German language have greater access to information. Five of my books consisting of from 450 to 558 pages of missionary reports are available in the German language. These references to additional sources of information are not provided with the intention of praising my own books. No, I want to enable those readers who are unable to visit the centers of re­vival themselves to participate in the blessing which emanates from the revival areas. Many let­ters show me what spiritual fruit these books have brought. Christians have been led to a new devotion to the Lord. Unbelievers have capitulated be­fore Christ.

A second reason for the reference to these books is the fact that there are in North America seven million people who have a command of the Ger­man language because they have German ances­tors. Since we do not otherwise promote our Ger­man language books in North America, I hope to reach the German-speaking people in this way.

Now, I will proceed to the discussion of the re­vivals.

I find the first reference to revival in Genesis 1:2. The second verse of the Bible speaks of revival: "And darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

It looks dark in the world today, and again the Spirit of God moves over the chaos.

I hardly know where I should begin and where I should end. It was in the year 1972. I was traveling through Brazil for the sixth time. Of the many countries I have visited, this country attracts me strongly. It is, to be sure, a citadel of spiritism and of the satanic cults. At the same time, this country with its 100,000,000 people is open to the gospel.

In Florianopolis there was a conference of Bap­tists. The program had been prepared ahead of time. But there was one who did not keep to the program: the Holy Spirit himself. While the breth­ren were praying, the power of God came over them. A spirit of confession of sin and of repen­tance took possession of them. There were tears of repentance and mutual confessions. No one in­quired about the time and about ordinary obli­gations. They continued to stand for awhile only in the presence of God and experienced a new cleans­ing and a preparation for service.

Then there was an incident in Pommerode. I had been invited to come by Pastor Liesenberg. The meetings were scheduled for eight o'clock. But al­ready at seven o'clock there was no room left in the church. All the seats were taken! In an adjoining room fifty people were sitting on the floor. The corridors were also packed. The sacristy, too, was filled with men. They sat on the steps leading to the pulpit. A tent was set up to provide additional space next to the church. Even that was filled to overflowing. Those who did not come early had to turn back, for no room could be found within the range of the loudspeaker. Many decisions were made. Two Christian congregations came into being during this week of lectures.

The week in Pelotas passed in a similar way. Pastor Müller, an old friend of mine, had called me to come. I enjoyed working with him very much. During the week of lectures the city experienced a flood. The streets were standing under water. We feared that this water would keep the people away from the services. But they came anyway. The church was so full that here, too, the lectures were relayed to a second room by means of an intercom and closed circuit of television. Pastor Müller said to me, "It was good that God sent us this flood. Otherwise we would not have been able to provide seats for the people. Now, only those who definitely were drawn by the Spirit of God came in the face of these obstacles.

An individual case should be reported.

Three weeks prior to the beginning of the cam­paign, a Roman Catholic man had a strange dream. We may not place a special value on dreams. We have the inspired Word of God as our foundation. But, we also do not have the right to deny God the privilege of confronting a person by means of a dream. This Roman Catholic saw a cross. Under it was standing a messenger of Jesus, who was preaching in a language which he could not under­stand. Then, the strange man disappeared and the man heard in his dream the voice of Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

In the days and weeks which followed, the man forgot his dream. Then, someone pressed into his hand an invitation to the lectures in the Lutheran church. The first topic read: Spiritism as Seen from the Perspective of Pastoral Work. This topic in­terested him. He was, to be sure, a Catholic, but instead of going to mass, he attended the meetings of the spiritists. Out of curiosity he entered the church. During the first lecture, he remembered his dream and said to himself: Indeed, this is what I saw and heard. He came again the next evening, and again on the third evening. Then the Spirit of God seized him. He was convicted of his sins and came the next morning for pastoral counseling. At that time, he surrendered his life to the Lord. The Catholic, a spiritist, became a disciple of Jesus. Not everything can be fully reported here.

In one city, sixty people responded to the invita­tion. In another city, there were more than two hundred. But it is not a question of numbers. An intoxication with numbers has led many an evan­gelist into an attitude of arrogance and has robbed him of his full spiritual authority. It is the Spirit of God, not we pitiful missionaries, who leads men to the decision. Alongside the spiritist cults and the fanatical movements, there is blowing in Brazil, also, the breath of the Lord. Every time I visit this land, it appears to me as if the Lord will ignite the fire of revival there very soon. Who wants to pray that it may happen soon according to the will of God? In Brazil, humanly speaking, the future of South America will be decided.

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CHAPTER I

THE REVIVAL IN INDONESIA

Events from the Indonesian Revival

This report is not intended as an introduction to or a survey of events in Indonesia. Such a report is available in the book Revival in Indonesia and in still greater detail in the German book Uns Herr wirst du Frieden Schaffen.

Only certain events will be selected which have caused much offense in the western world. The reason for this is that many western theologians do not believe the Bible, but rather take their own understanding as the standard.

Is the word of John 14:12 able to open our eyes? "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

Now is that truth or pious imagination? Who­ever does not believe the Bible and wants to demythologize its reports of miracles will be excluded from every revival.

Even as I was writing this chapter, a letter from Dr. J. T. V-L., a believing woman in Holland came into my hands.

This believing Christian has an earned doctorate from a university. After reading my book, she sought contact with a missionary who had re­turned to Holland after several years of activity on Timor.

This Reformed theologian brought home from the mission field the following verdict:

The revival movement in Indonesia is pagan Messianism. The miracle of water being changed into wine is deceit. All of these miraculous acts of God are fan­tasies of high-strung islanders. He had been in Soe himself and had searched in vain for a person who had risen from the dead.

What can one reply to this? Poor missionary! The glory of God which Jesus gave to His disciples and still gives today (John 17:22) has not yet appeared to him. Perhaps it would have been better had he remained at home instead of trying to minister to the islanders. The institute at which he taught has been pumped full of biblical criticism, anyway, by Europeans. I will discuss this matter again later. Let us proceed next to the matter which causes the greatest offense to the western world.

The Resurrection from the Dead . . .

The Dutch missionary of whom we have spoken testified, "I was in Soe once in 1969. I found no one who had been raised from the dead."

I have also been in Soe myself. I was not at all concerned with finding someone who had risen from the dead. I experienced something much greater, namely, that men who were dead in their sins were awakened to spiritual life. I was present when a murderer confessed his monstrous deeds and surrendered himself to Christ. I was also pres­ent when King Kusa Nope gave his testimony for Christ. The return home of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is a greater miracle than the resurrection from the dead of the widow's son of Nain (Luke 7). The spiritual has precedence over the material. A re­birth through the Holy Spirit is more than a physi­cal resurrection.

We may not shift the emphasis. To be sure, spiritual things can be understood only through the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 2:14). Those who came to the central ecclesiastical district on Timor during the initial stages of the revival experienced powerful things. The heathen accepted Jesus by the tens of thousands, and nominal Christians experi­enced a break-through to a genuine Christian life.

Yet, aside from these spiritual resurrections, there were also resurrections from the dead. I myself met the woman of whom the leaders of the congrega­tion say that she has experienced six resurrections from the dead in the presence of many witnesses.

The name of this woman is Mother Sarlin. I met her in Soe. Petrus Oktavianus informed me that this woman, after having this wonder­ful experience, became proud and lost her spiritual power. Of course, Petrus Oktavianus is a trust­worthy witness, even accepted by Dr. George Pe­ters. But, very often the Timorese people are not able to distinguish. Therefore, we ought to exercise great caution and reservation in our acceptance of these reports. The people on Timor differentiate in their stories with various forms of being dead.

When an islander falls from a tree and remains unconscious for five hours, then he later speaks of having been dead.

Even in describing visionary experiences, the Timorese use the same expression dead. Thus, a twenty-four-year old man of Timor told me in the presence of several foreigners that he had been dead for fourteen hours and had been at the en­trance to hell. Then the Lord called him back. The man who reported this had not been physically dead but had only had a vision.

In considering the next "form of death", the problem becomes more critical even for a western observer. So-called cataleptic comas occur much more frequently in Eastern Asia and on the Pacific islands than in the West. In the speech of the common people, we say here in the West "apparent death". According to the laws in the tropics, dead people must be buried within twelve hours be­cause of the rapid rate of decomposition. Since doctors are often unavailable to determine whether or not a person is dead, such people who are in a cataleptic coma are also buried. To us, this situation seems intolerable.

A fourth form of apparent death, is the occult trance-like state which occurs among the people of Tibet and Macumba, among the Voodoos, and also in Indonesia. In this mediumistic trance, all the functions of the body are slowed down drastically. One can hardly find the pulse. The activity of the heart is reduced to a minimum. Since the circula­tion of the blood is also greatly diminished, these mediums look pale and as if dead. I have had con­tact with such phenomena in many countries, in India as well as in Indonesia and among Islamic sorcerers. During these occult trances, there are the most rapid "resurrections" from the dead. When an entire prayer circle takes up the cause of such a person, then the death-like trance yields to the spiritual influence.

The fifth form of being dead is then actual physi­cal death.

For all these five forms of - unconscious states, visions, cataleptic coma, the mediumistic trance, and actual physical death - the people of Timor use the expression to be dead. The language of these people is not sufficiently differentiated in this area. In order to prevent misunderstandings, let it here be noted that other Indonesian languages do have this differentiation. The revival has been granted on approximately thirty islands. Every large island has its own lan­guage.

Because of this linguistic situation, the western missionary cannot rely on the reports of the people of Timor with reference to the matter of being dead. In all cases, he must determine whether signs of decomposition had already appeared in the dead person before the miracle of resurrection occurred. And there are such cases. I know of two such occur­rences where signs of decomposition had ap­peared. One case was reported to me by Detmar Scheunemann. The other case was reported by a team who came back from the Portuguese border near Atambua.

Much more has happened in the Indonesian re­vival than what is described in all the reports on the subject. Before proceeding to a new event, I again want to emphasize my rejection of every kind of mania for miracles. Those who want to base their faith on miracles alone fall prey to fanaticism, which has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of sobriety, of truth, of spiritual discipline.

The question will now arise: "Why, then, do you report the miracles?" I counter with this question: "Why are so many miracles reported in the Bible?" A sarcastic joker responded thus to my counter-question: "So that the theologians will have something to criticize and to doubt".

The Bible is full of the glory of God. In this world of God's greatness the miracle consists not of the supernatural but rather of the natural.

Let us hear of a new challenge to human and unregenerate understanding. A team was on its way evangelizing in the eastern part of the In­donesian half of the island Timor. A river blocked the way. The water was too deep. No boat was available. No bridge was available either. The Lord gave the command: "Walk across the water". First there was hesitation, then simple obedience. The members of the team did not know what was hap­pening to them. They felt firm ground under their feet and crossed over the river although the resi­dents had said that the water was very deep.

What should we do with such a report? The rationalists and ethnologists of the West say: a pious fairytale originating in the religious sub consciousness of primitive people who cannot dis­tinguish between the imaginary and the real.

This report cannot be disposed of so easily. Have not the theologians and the missionaries who have become estranged from the Spirit of God them­selves at one time learned the words: Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever? Is this valid or not? I would like to scream these words into the ears of those who think they know it all, these people who are constantly polluting the glory of God and casting doubt upon it.

Let us, then, look once more into the Bible to see whether such an event is uncommon.

What was the experience of the people of Israel in the face of the Red Sea? We read the answer in Exodus 14:15-16: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea".

Fortunately, no theologian or scholar in the field of missions was among them. They would have talked the miracle out of existence before it happened.

Let us also read Joshua 3. It is reported there that the water of the Jordan was pushed back so that the people of Israel, again, could pass across the river bed without any trouble. Those who are stubborn about accepting this miracle should take a lesson from the psalmist. We read in Psalm 66:12: "We went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place".

And the prophet Isaiah should have the final round in the Old Testament. By order of God, he writes in Isaiah 43:2: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee".

In the New Testament we have the report of how Jesus walked over the water in coming to the aid of his troubled disciples (Matthew 14:22-33).

Of course, I am familiar with the explanation of the liberals, who declare that Jesus walked through shallow water at the time of low-tide. Such lies do not hold up very well. The critics and know-it-alls should first see to it that the Sea of Galilee get low and high tides.

We have Holy Scripture as a witness that the Creator who made the universe also governs and controls it.

Yet, another argument from a completely differ­ent area should be considered. From about forty years till now, I have been observing occult phenomena. I have never become involved in such matters myself. I have only become familiar with them through my pastoral work. Since in Europe, as well as on the mission field converted magicians have often come to me for pastoral counseling, I have heard much about their secrets.

In the area of spiritism,  magic,  and fortune-telling, there are many occurrences which often resemble biblical miracles, although they have a satanic origin. How can this be? The devil is the imitator of God. He tries to mimic God in all things. For this reason, there are satanic miracles which run counter to all biblical miracles. The confusing thing is that these miracles of the devil often border on the religious so that even Christians can be deceived.

Now, occasionally, it is possible to draw an infer­ence back from the miracles of Satan to biblical miracles. True Christians say in such a case: if the Devil can do that, then God can do it a thousand times better and more often.

In the history of religion that has been called via negationis. That is to say, one can often draw conclusions from the negative which can be applied to the positive.

In this connection I want to report an experience from the mission field.

It was in Madras. I was at the home of Father Daniel, whose life story I will tell later. Brother Daniel has a university education and is an intellectually prominent man. He reported to me that powerful Indian spiritists and magicians also are able to cross a deep river by means of magical forces and without any kind of special resources. Here, then, we have the satanic counterpart to the crossing over the water which was reported in this chap­ter.

Daniel's report does not stand by itself. I have heard such things of the voodoos on Haiti, of the Macumba tribes in Brazil, of the Zombis in Africa, and of the Shinto priests of magic in Japan. These occult phenomena belong in the area of spiritual levitation and translocation. Those who would like further information on this subject can consult the following books of mine published in the English language by Kregel Publications: Christian Counsel­ing and Occultism; Between Christ and Satan; The Devil's Alphabet; Demonology, Past and Present; and Occult Bondage and Deliverance. I recommend also the book by Dr. Merrill F. Unger entitled Demons in the World Today and John L. Nevius Demon Possession.

In this report of water being changed into wine a sign is given. The critics are annoyed at this. Those who are born of the Spirit of God rejoice in the acts of God. The biblical miracle which occurred at the marriage in Cana has been repeated in Soe on Timor eight times.

We will hear an authentic report on this matter from Superintendent J. M. E. Daniel, who is direc­tor in the central ecclesiastical district on Timor. Daniel is a Reformed theologian and has completed a western-type seminary training. He gave a full report at the conference on July 12, 1968 before 120 missionaries and students from four continents. I myself was present and later received the report in English translation. This detailed introduction is necessary because tremendous things will be de­clared. Yet, they do stand up in the face of critical examination. I have preached several times in the church in Soe in which this has happened. Let us now hear Superintendent Daniel.

No grapes grow on Timor. There is no such thing as wine made from grapes there. The importing of wine would be completely impossible because of the great poverty of the people. But, there is on Timor a drink made from the juice of palm trees which contains a high percentage of alcohol. Many people are addicted to this drink. Prior to the re­vival alcoholism reigned on Timor. When the Spirit of God seized the people, many destroyed their liquor bottles. Many bars were also simply smashed to pieces. Those who were converted on Timor gave up alcohol.

Because of this, a difficult problem developed in the practices of the church. The Reformed church used this brandy made from palm juice thinned with water in the celebration of Holy Communion. During every celebration, the smell of alcohol per­vaded the church. This custom became a temptation for those who had been freed from their drinking. For the drunkards outside of the church this custom was a means of defending themselves. They said, "As long as the church pours out alcohol it is not a sin. There is no reason why we may drink our palm drink only in church".

The believers prayed for a solution. The Lord did not keep them waiting long for an answer. On September 9, 1967, a woman heard the voice of the Lord saying, "During the October celebration of Holy Communion I will change water into wine". This announcement was repeated on the thirteenth and seventeenth of October, 1967. The woman, who belonged to an evangelical team, reported this message to the brothers in charge. During the celebration of Holy Communion on the fifth of October, the containers were filled with water and the people prayed over them. The promised miracle occurred. The congregation in Soe had here experienced its first miracle with the wine.

During the next celebration of Holy Communion in December of 1967, the miracle was repeated in the same manner. The Lord always gave an an­nouncement several weeks ahead of time, this an­nouncement was always fulfilled. He also sought out every time a different team which was to pray for the transformation of the water.

In his report, in July of 1968, Superintendent Daniel emphasized that since that event in October of 1967, the miracle of transformation was repeated at all communion celebrations in Soe. The total number is now eight times.

On December 7, 1968, Petrus Oktavianus to­gether with his wife participated in the celebration of Holy Communion in Soe. He, too, experienced this miracle. He said to me he had felt like a miser­able sinner during this service and had confessed his sins anew in spite of the forgiveness he had already received.

One time two bottles of this wine were left over. As the next celebration of Holy Communion approached, these two containers were missing. According to the announcement, teams four and eleven were supposed to have permission to carry out the next transformation. Seven bottles were needed, only five were there. With the consent of Superintendent Daniel, one of the members emp­tied the two full bottles. When he arrived home, he found his wife lying there with a hemorrhage. She seemed to have lost a quantity of blood equal to the amount of wine which had been emptied. The man knelt down beside his wife and prayed for her healing. He then hurried to Superintendent Daniel and reported what had happened. They called the elders together and hurried into the house of the sick woman; there they prayed over her. Im­mediately she was restored to health.

After this experience the men asked the Lord, "If you do not want your wine to be emptied out, what then are we supposed to do with it?" The Lord answered them that they could use the wine for the sick so that they might be cured by means of it. It should be used especially in cases of anemia. After this, the people acted according to these instruc­tions.

By administering this wine to the sick, the people made a new discovery. After standing around for a while, the wine became bitter. During the first week it was only dry, but in the fourth week it was already almost completely bitter. But let us not forget that the manna which was given to I he people of Israel in the wilderness also became spoiled when it was kept for a longer period of time. After hearing the report of Superintendent Daniel, many missionaries naturally asked, "Is it a case of true wine, or is it grape juice as the total abstainers often believe?" The answer was revealing. Neither the one nor the other! It tastes and smells like true wine but contains no alcohol. Perhaps in this way the argument between the total abstainers and their opponents can cease. Both are wrong. Both are right. This will be the case with yet many theological problems.

To the western theologians the repetition of the miracle of Cana is a scandal. Many of them reject the miracles of the Bible, as it is. For this reason, they have no access to the events of Timor. My book will be rejected as an expression of fanati­cism. I can understand that. If I had been taken by surprise by such a book five years ago, I would not have believed it either. For this reason I have sym­pathy with genuine doubters. But now, this diffi­culty can be overcome. The revival center of Soe can be visited by doubters even as I myself did. It is possible to examine these events and perhaps even to participate in the experience if the glorified Lord permits it.

To be sure, this revival congregation is not a tourism attraction. No one should approach the table of the Lord who does not desire to follow him. Furthermore, curiosity can be touched on at a sensitive point. In this revival center, live many with spiritual gifts. He who appears here with unforgiven sins or even with an insidious or obstinate heart can experience here, under certain circumstances, the uncovering of his hidden and unforgiven sins. It is definitely possible that the Lord will give to a member of a team a direct message for an unrepentant person present - a message which then hits the bull's eye.

I am Witness

I am an unworthy witness. I have often robbed the Lord of honor. How often I have been disobe­dient and have made my own decisions. My ser­vice in the kingdom of God rebukes me. And yet, I am witness. God's mercy is incomprehensible. I am witness to the transformation of water into wine.

After a faith conference in eastern Java, an inter­national team under the direction of Petrus Oklavianus departed in order to visit several places in the revival area. In addition to the leader and his assistant, there were three professors from Japan and Pakistan in the group. A young American missionary also accompanied us. We came, then, from five nations and formed the first international team with the privilege of becoming acquainted with the center of the revival. Each of us foreigners was deeply moved by this privilege granted us. Petrus Oktavianus said to me, "You are the first German from the outside who has been permitted to participate in this." I can only repeat: I have not earned this privilege.

On July 16, 1969, we reached Soe on the island Timor. It had been a strenuous trip. In Germany One cannot imagine such traveling conditions. We arrived many hours late. The members of the congregation had already been waiting four hours for us.

The next few days we attended many meetings. Ten to twelve hours per day.  What a spiritual stomach these people have that they can take in and digest so much!

During our stay, we, together with the entire congregation, witnessed twice the transformation of water into wine. It was the ninth and tenth miracle of transformation. Who can comprehend how we were considered worthy to be placed in the presence of God!

Superintendent Daniel explained that the Lord had told him six weeks prior to our arrival that he was to celebrate Holy Communion together with the coming international team. At this time the team had not yet been formed. That occurred at the faith conference which I mentioned and then only after much prayer, two days before our departure.

On the fifth of July, twelve men and women had received from the Lord the assignment of praying for the transformation of water into wine. Six women, by order of the Lord, were to draw water from a spring which the Lord designated. The water was poured into a large container in the presence of eighteen people and then covered with a cloth. On Friday, the eighteenth of July, at twelve o'clock, the Lord said to them that the transforma­tion had taken place. They removed the cloth. It was wine. When I saw the amount of wine, I de­clared to one of the leading brothers, "That will not suffice for seven hundred to eight hundred guests at Holy Communion." He agreed and said, "We realize that too. We have to wait for instructions from the Lord." At ten o'clock, on Saturday, the assignment of the Lord came: "Assemble tomor­row at four o'clock in the morning, draw water from a spring which I will show you, and pray until seven o'clock." It happened. The next morning at seven o'clock water was again changed into wine in the presence of eighteen people.

Each time the Lord chooses different people to fetch the water and each time, different ones to pray. There are, then, no special privileges. Each time, also, the Lord designates different places at which the people are to gather and at which the transformation takes place. There is a series of miracles, then, which occurs throughout the entire congregation. No one knows ahead of time who has been chosen by the Lord for this.

This transformation brings up many problems. I am familiar with the ugly objections of the rationalists. We were not under the influence of mass hypnosis during this event. It definitely was not a matter of trickery or deceit. The pastors of the congregation are involved as well as the doctor of the village, the district president, and even the believing King Kusa Nope.

I can appreciate all honest questions. Human reason cannot comprehend this miracle. Even the simple islanders have doubts at times. One day a woman expressed her doubts. She was a believing Christian. At the time of the next transformation the Lord gave her the task of fetching water and of being present until the transformation had taken place. She experienced it with her own eyes; she then fell down, cried, and asked the Lord for forgiveness. One of the brothers told me his own story. After the first transformation he expressed doubts and said, "If that is true, I will give up cow for it." How amazed he was when the next time the Lord designated him to fetch water. He drew water at the appointed spring. He hardly had the water in his container when he smelled the fragrance of wine. He saw that he already had wine in the container. He put the wine down, fell on the ground, and asked the Lord for forgiveness.

The remarkable thing in these events is the fact that the Lord gives instructions down to the smallest detail. The participants are to render absolute obedience. At one transformation the Lord sent out the people who were to fetch water but indicated no particular spring. The six persons who had been chosen started out without knowing where they were going. When they were outside the village, the Lord suddenly gave the command: "Stop! Lift the stone!" They did this and found water. They filled their containers. The next day, this spring had dried up again.

On another occasion the eighteen praying peo­ple received the command to deliver the wine to Pastor Manuein. They reached his house. His wife took the wine from them. As a result of this small act of disobedience, the wine changed back into water. According to the instruction of the Lord they had to fast and pray again for three days until the Lord transformed the water back into wine.

On the occasion of the ninth transformation of the water, at which I was a witness, the twelve people chosen by the Lord received the assignment two weeks ahead of time that they were to fast. Then, the Lord indicated that they might eat only half a banana and a teaspoon of rice and drink half a glass of water each day. Nourished only by this small amount of food, they were to pray several hours each morning and were to work during the day. But the Lord blessed the small amount of food.

On Sunday, the twentieth of July, we then had the service of Holy Communion for which we had been longing. Five hundred to seven hundred members of the congregation took part in it. I had never before experienced such a celebration. Who can comprehend our deep emotion as we sat at the table of the Lord which the Lord had furnished with his own wine. The wine was red and tasted spicy but was without alcohol. For about ten min­utes the spicy taste remained in my mouth.

What could be the significance of this transfor­mation of the water? One thing it certainly is not. It is not a sensation but rather an aid which the Lord gives to these poor people who do not even have fruit juices at their disposal. It must also be em­phasized that the transformation of hearts is more important than the transformation of water into wine. There are miracles which are more powerful than this preparation of the wine. Jesus is the greatest gift of all. His coming, His atoning death, His res­urrection, His ascension into heaven, and His return are more important than the gift of His wine. The salvation of man is more valuable than the gift of a supernatural wine. Our faith is not built upon such miracles but rather upon Jesus and His Word. If we have understood that, then the way is free for great joy over the fact that the Lord is still present in the twentieth century with the same power and majesty as He was during His time on earth. It is a mighty demonstration that the Lord performs such miracles at a time when the theologians of the Western world cross the miracle of Cana out of the Bible and attribute it to the legend of Dionysius. In the revival area of Asia there is no Dionysius, there is only the Lord Jesus.

This wine miracle has yet further significance. When He performed the miracle in Cana, Jesus was standing at the beginning of His miraculous and saving activity. According to John 2:11, the miracle of transformation was His first miracle in Galilee. It is no mere coincidence that this miracle occurred at a wedding. The coming of Jesus is a happy time, a time of celebration. The second coming of the Lord, that time when He will carry away His congrega­tion and will celebrate the marriage supper of the lamb, is the event of the future which is again the most joyous and the most full of promise. The water-into-wine miracle in the revival area is eschatological in nature. The "marriage" is immi­nent. The Lord is coming. Both the first and the second coming of the Lord bring a time of joy. In the revival area this fact is recognized. Many prophecies point to the imminent return of Jesus.

In this wine miracle there is yet another problem which must be touched upon in conclusion. I have often been asked why God performs such miracles among these islanders and not among us.

The answer is not very difficult. We have the Bible, the divinely inspired Word of the Lord. How is God to reveal himself to the illiterates, who neither have a Bible nor would be able to read it? In the jungle settlements of Timor there are no schools. All inhabitants, including the elders of the village and the mayor, are unable to read and write. There are schools only in the larger villages like Kupang, Lelogama, Soe, Atambua, Niki-Niki, and a few others. God speaks in miracles to these primitive people. The pagans who are converted, then obtain for themselves a Bible - usually given them by friends at the mission - and then have someone read the biblical texts aloud to them re­peatedly until they know these verses by heart. As soon as these illiterates are able to read, the great stream of miracles ceases. That is a thoroughly healthy spiritual development. Like us, these is­landers must learn to find their foundation in the written Word which has been inspired by God.

Thus, the miracle of the wine also gradually eases. In 1971 it still occurred four times. From October 1967 until the end of 1971, this miracle occurred a total of twenty times. According to a report of Pastor Daniel in Soe, it occurred only once in 1972. Since then, it has not happened again. Naturally, there are still miraculous answers to prayer. That is biblical. The person who is praying waits in faith for the answer from God. In this connection, Pastor Daniel reported that his mentally ill daughter, whom people had wanted to commit to a psychiatric section in Kupang, was healed through prayer. Healings still come as the fruit of prayer even though the great and powerful stream of healing characteristic of the beginning slowly died down.

A theological problem also arises in connection ill the miracles of Timor.

The representatives of dispensational theology declare that the great period of miracles came to an end    with the apostolic era. There is something true and something false in this theology.

I have studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Tübingen. It belongs to the ABC's of Lutheran theology that the originality of the apostolic period came to an end with the formation and recognition of the biblical canon at the Synods of Jamnia and Joppe (201 A.D.). At the same time formation of the canon is the end of the general period of revelation, the end of genuine prophecy. In this, Lutheran theology finds itself in agreement with Reformed theology and with the dogma of the theological institutes of the Baptists both on this side and on the other side of the ocean. I also stand firm on this foundation.

The question is, then, how are we to understand theologically the miracles of Timor. For the mod­ernistic theologians, they are simply lies and deceit. For the extreme dispensationalists they are a source of irritation. They feel that they are threatened in their theology. For those who specialize in the psychology of religion, they are legends developed by primitive people who confuse their imaginings with reality. All these opinions fail to take into account the truth of the Bible.

I can ascribe to a moderate form of dispensationalism simply because there are definite periods of revelation. The time in paradise stands in a different proximity to God than does the time after the fall into sin. Noah's time is different from the times of Abraham, Moses, the kings, and the prophets. The apostolic period has a character dif­ferent from that of the time when the New Testa­ment had already been defined. There is no point in arguing about this.

Along with thousands of other Christians, how­ever, I see red when people want to assume that the Holy Spirit locked up his office at the end of the apostolic period. To this I respond with an em­phatic no. Then, all the promises of the Bible would today be meaningless. Then, the Bible would be only a fact in the history of religion which could show us how things were at one time.

No, the living God is still reigning today in the lives of His children. He still hears prayers today. The Holy Spirit is still active today with the same power as then. This becomes especially apparent in the revivals.

I naturally know that in the matter of the so-called spiritual gifts the emphasis has shifted. I stated this already with reference to biblical prophecy. On the basis of philological and biblical linguistics, I distinguish among four forms of prophecy. I do not want to elaborate on this now, since I am not writing a theological textbook but rather bringing reports from revival areas.

Allow me at the conclusion of this chapter to quote a drastic statement from the Bible: "Neither Cast ye your pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6). Petrus Oktavianus, the most famous leader in the Indonesian revival (Pak Elias), declared, "I no longer report the wine miracle in the West. They do not believe it. For this reason they hear this report to the increasing of their stubbornness and to their judgment. I want to keep them from this".

Reactions and Counter movements

The more magnificent and powerful a revival is, the more guns the arch-enemy brings forth to block and ruin the acts of God.

In military service the recruits in the artillery have to engage in target practice. Many of them shoot too short, many, too long. But both miss the target.

In spiritual movements there occurs the same phenomenon. Extreme hotspurs shoot too long. They exaggerate. Cold men of reason and critics usually shoot too short. Their shot, their gaze does not reach to the target. It is only tragic that they think they have hit the target.

The arch-enemy of souls rejoices in this. He likes nothing better than seeing the truth obscured and denied.

From the beginning of the apostolic revival until today, we have been experiencing, continually, the same tactics of Satan. He only keeps changing the setting and shifting the scene so that no one will catch up with his tricks. The apostle Paul once wrote: "We are not ignorant of his devices" (II Corinthians 2:11). Today he would have to say: "We are ignorant of his devices".

Let us go back to the time of Jesus. Do we re­member the story about Quaestus? The young man sought the truth and received opposing answers.

When the Son of God walked upon earth, there were, in Jerusalem, many religious groups and movements. The liberals, the rationalists of that time, were the Sadducees, who rejected the resur­rection of the dead, the miracles, the supernatural things. They still have their disciples today.

Another group was that of the Essenes. Their main concern was the ritual washings which were supposed to lead to the purity of the soul.

Yet another group was that of the Nazarites, rad­icals who wanted to force their way through to their goals by means of their vows and by violence.

The most enthusiastic ones were the Zealots, pugnacious people who did not spare their own life to attain a goal which they saw as true.

I intentionally name last the group of the Pharisees. They exerted the most detrimental influence on the people. Because of their numbers and because of their great sense of dedication to the law, they were the most significant among all these elements. We will linger a little longer with this group, for it still has many adherents today.

The Pharisees were the orthodox ones among the religious movements of the time of Jesus. To all who questioned them on their beliefs, they declared:

"We believe in the stories and miracles of Holy Scripture (the Old Testament).

We believe in the resurrection of the dead.

We believe in the Divine Inspiration of the holy books".

And what happened? When the resurrection of Jesus took place in the vicinity of Jerusalem, they declared, "His disciples came by night, and stole n away while we slept" (Matthew 28:13).

How many orthodox theologians and Christians are their followers today! They say, "We believe in the Holy Scriptures. We accept the miracles in the Bible and also the possibility of miracles today". I when such miracles do occur, then they come up against it with everything, not only criticism but also they in order to get rid of the 'unpleasant' miracles. They will rather deny the activity of God than throw overboard their falsely oriented theology.

Having completed this basic introduction, let us discuss a series of criticisms. This is not done with attitude that only I am right and they are all wrong. I know that our knowledge is incomplete (I Corinthians 13:12). I am also aware of the fact that the Spirit of God reveals Himself, but not to the proud and only to the humble, the defeated, the miser­able.

I bring multiple gifts to this task of evaluating the Indonesian revival. By the grace of God, I have experienced a rebirth through the Holy Spirit and also a filling with the Spirit from above. Until now I have not reported on this second experience in any book written in English. Perhaps I would have been counted among the Pentecostals although I do not belong there.

I also bring academic qualifications to this task. I have earned my doctorate at the university with a thesis in the area of the border sciences of theology, parapsychology, medical psychology, and pastoral care.

Finally, I have at my disposal material from the revival areas which is based on direct experience, for I have visited almost all of the revival centers in existence today.

This personal introduction is necessary because I have been attacked in many American periodicals in a nasty and ugly manner.

Now, people will probably criticize me also be­cause of the fact that I am mentioning the filling with the Spirit of God for the first time in a book written in English. Other messengers of Jesus have done this before me. I cite here the testimony of Dr. R. A. Torrey, which was published in a small book­let The Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Dr. Torrey tes­tified as follows:

"I was led to seek the baptism with the Holy Spirit because I became convinced from the study of the Acts of the Apostles that no one had a right to preach the Gospel until he had been baptized with the Holy Spirit. At last, I was led to the place where I said that I would never enter the pulpit again, until I had been baptized with the Holy Ghost and knew it, or until God in some way told me to go. I ob­tained the blessing in less than a week. If I had understood the Bible as I do now, there need not have passed any days.

"As to what the blessing has done for me, I could not begin to tell. It has brought a joy into my soul that I had never dreamed of before; a liberty in preaching that makes preaching an unspeakable delight, where before it was a matter of dread; it has opened to me a door of usefulness so that now, instead of preaching to a very little church, I have calls every year to proclaim the truth to many thousands, being invited to conventions in every part of the land to address vast audiences; and I have a church today, in addition to my work in the Moody Bible Institute, that has a membership of thirteen hundred."

I am not comparing myself to Dr. Torrey, but I have the same God, the same Bible, the same promises and the same Saviour to whom I have surrendered myself.

Giving this report, I want to avoid being understood. I do not say that a "second blessing would be necessary in order to be a good Christian. I believe that we receive the Holy Spirit with our rebirth. We should not separate conversion, rebirth, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit as gifts in different steps.  I reject such a position. Sometimes God gives a man a special experience, but we should not build a special theology out of it.

1. Church Government and Seminary in Kupang

Now, let us proceed to the counter-movements. The first group existing in resistance to the revival is to be found in the Timorese church itself; it is composed of the directors of the church, the theological institute, and the pastors.

This is not at all unusual. Almost all revivals have embittered opponents in the theological circles.

As a classical example, I want to mention Pastor Louis Harms in Germany, to whom God granted the Hermannsburg revival. He was a great man of prayer, who spent several hours on his knees each day. When he died, his knees were like leather. During his lifetime the ministers fought against him to the end. Sixty-two times they approached the governing body of the church with complaints against him. Yet, they were never able to produce proofs to back up their charges. One of the charges was that he had sold the golden chalice used in Holy Communion and had used the money to buy himself alcohol.

How did the common people react to Louis Harms? I have gathered many reports in the Hermannsburg area. One of my hosts reported to me, "Often, on Saturday, my grandmother marched off so that she could hear Louis Harms preach on Sunday. She had to go fifty-six miles on foot each way, a total, then, of 112 miles. She did not come back until Monday."

The ministers were bursting with venom and malice while the people were hungering after the bread of life.

On Timor things have not happened in such a crass manner, but yet just as much hostility has arisen. The Indonesian half of the island is com­posed of three ecclesiastical districts. The revival originated in the central ecclesiastical district among the laity, not among the pastors. Not until the revival was well under way, were many pastors caught up in it; the most prominent among them is Superintendent J. M. E. Daniel, who observed the revival critically for one year without becoming involved in it until the Spirit of God seized him.

The most hostile group is the western ecclesiastical district. The center of this district is Kupang, where the governing body of the church has its seat and where the theological institute is also located. What is the attitude of these theological leaders? I was in Kupang a total of three times and was able to study the conditions thoroughly.

As a western visitor I could not avoid paying the resident of the Timorese church a courtesy visit. Petrus Oktavianus, the most prominent leader of the revival, accompanied me. The brief meeting developed into a great disappointment. We both reported that we had twice witnessed how the Lord Jesus had transformed water into wine for Holy Communion. Naturally, we were not the only witnesses. Professor Shimizu, an instructor at the University of Tokyo, was present as well Professor Iqbal and Professor Daniel Bakt, instructors from Pakistan, and an American and a german missionary from Batu, Detmar Scheunenin. In addition to this international group of witnesses, there were also five hundred to seven hundred inhabitants of Soe present.

What did the president of the church reply? This miracle had not occurred. It was a piece of deceit. The crafty islanders had prepared this wine from bananas and sugar.

At this moment my mind passed back over the centuries. Out of the distance I heard again the words: "His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. . .  and this saying is com­monly reported among the Jews until this day" (Matthew 28:13, 15).

Both of us, Petrus Oktavianus and I, were stand­ing in front of the theological institute in Kupang. I asked Peter, "Must we pay a courtesy call here too? I have had more than my fill with the first one." He answered, "No, these Dutch instructors are strongly opposed to the revival. It is hopeless! The leading theologian at this institute is Dr. Middlekoop. A second one is the missionary who returned to Holland in 1970. He is the man who called the revival 'a pagan Messianism'".

Most of the pastors on Timor come from this Institute. It is, then, no surprise that the pastors continue to proclaim what they were taught in Kupang. It was a disappointment for me that ex­cept for the groups of laymen, Kupang was hardly touched by the revival. An exception to this is Pastor Jakob, who allowed the evangelical teams of Soe to enter his church and thus participate in the blessing of the revival. I myself preached in his church one evening in my poor English and was amazed that the Spirit of God led eighteen people to a decision at the time of the invitation. But, as I have already said, here in Kupang, too, it is the laity that has been seized by the spirit of the re­vival.

Now what happens when a western theologian comes to Timor in order to study the revival? Among these western visitors are some who bring with them their objections and their criti­cism. They are, as it were, predestined to accept all negative aspects with great eagerness.

They, then, pay their visits to the president of the church and to the director of the theological insti­tute and are there informed that the revival repre­sents pagan emotionalism.

Finally, then, they come to Soe - already packed lull of criticism and rejection. The spiritual Mothers in the revival center observe quickly in what spirit a visitor comes. I have experienced a few times that these spiritual brothers remain silent about their experiences in the presence of such visitors. One does not cast valuable pearls away but rather puts them into a safe.

Thus, this type of western theologian has before him four barriers: his own disbelief, the deceit hypothesis of the church president in Kupang, the thesis of pagan Messianism from the institute and, finally, the silence of the brothers.

Naturally such a theologian then returns to his own country and declares joyfully to his followers, "Did I not say right away that these miraculous stories have been made up out of the exuberance of the heart." Then, since this visitor is a theologian and an instructor, perhaps even affiliated with a famous school or seminary, people believe him. Thus, the number of the lies is increased. In this way Satan again attains his goal.

I am familiar with the psychology of primitive peoples. An expert in the science of missions, Professor Freytag, spoke of the cultural threshold. Natives, members of the primitive tribes below the cultural threshold, confuse too easily imagination and reality. There are visual external projections. I illustrate this in my book Christian Counseling and Occultism (p. 208) in the chapter on eidetics. There are also external projections out of the un­conscious. The primitive man, then, actually be­lieves that something has objectively occurred when it is only a conglomeration, a product of an interaction in the world of his sense perception which has been projected into the external world.

Some western observers have tried to undercut the revival on Timor by placing it in the category of these projections. Let us pause once more at the word primitive. In their use of this expression, western rationalists often imply an inferiority, an intellectually under­developed state. People then feel themselves superior to these simple men.

Before the face of God things are quite different. He reveals himself to the humble, the insignificant, the defeated ones and not to the proud or the puffed-up and the arrogant.

We can inform ourselves further on this matter by turning to the words of Paul in I Corinthians 1:19-21, 26-28, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent . . . God made foolish the things of the world to confound the wise ..."

We find further explanation of this in I Corin­thians 2:14-15, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are unto him a pagan Messianism - pardon me, I made a mistake in my writing - they are foolishness unto him. . . . But he that is spiritual judgeth all things".

Applied to the "primitive people" and the clever people" of today, that can mean that the highly learned professor of theology without the Holy Spirit does not comprehend the spiritual events of a revival.

The despised "primitive" who has been born again and has received the Holy Spirit understands more about spiritual things than the university scholar. Whomever the shoe fits, he should put it on!

In order to avoid misunderstandings, I must add a word of explanation. Naturally, there are also theologians who have the Holy Spirit and a humble heart. It is all the better when true faith and an excellent education unite! On the other hand, primitives can also be terribly proud and arrogant.

Extreme Exaggerations

The second group with which we would briefly like to come to grips is that of Mel Tari and his friends. If the Kupang people shoot too short, then Mel Tari people shoot too long. They exaggerate.

I have read the book by Mel Tari entitled Like a Mighty Wind twice. In addition, I met Mel Tari personally in his home town. If I remember correctly, he was also my interpreter once when I spoke in Soe.

First I will say a positive word which will make many people uncomfortable. I can substantiate many of his reports of miracles myself. Mel Tari will certainly be happy about that. But what he and his friends do not accept from me is my resistance to the theology which is un­folded in the book. It is not the product of Mel Tari's own thinking but reflects rather the influ­ence of his "pentecostal" friends in the U.S.A.

Mel Tari was financed by American Christians and was guided by them although he did not notice this because of his yielding disposition. Let us take a sentence out of his book. On page 119, he said, ". . . those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit will sooner or later speak in tongues." That is a false teaching!

a. The Corinthian congregation which spoke in tongues was the most difficult congregation the Apostle Paul had.

b. In the later letters of Paul we hear nothing more about the speaking in tongues.

c. During the nineteen-hundred-year history of Christianity, the great men of God have not spoken in tongues.

d. Martin Luther, John Calvin, Phillipp Jakob Spener, Charles G. Finney, D. L. Moody, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Hudson
Taylor, and C. Haddon Spurgeon did not need to warn their congregations against speaking in tongues.

e. Dr. R. A. Torrey explained, "If God did not bestow this gift anymore in nineteen hundred years, I cannot understand why now
suddenly in the twentieth century he should grant this gift again."

f. In its impact, the movement of speaking in tongues is a spiritual catastrophe. I have be­come aware of this state of affairs in my visits to about four hundred mission fields. It is not necessary to write much about this. There probably are a hundred publications for and against this teaching.

The modernists and the orthodox people have probably followed me with approval on these six points. Whether they will do so also in my last statement is questionable.  The extreme dispentionalists will certainly not accept the following statement, but I must say this for the sake of objectivity.

1 believe along with them that the actual gift for speaking in tongues probably came to an end with the apostolic period. But again I assume that the Lord can give to a person the gift of worshiping in a strange language in individual cases. I met such people who privately - without anyone's knowledge - worshiped God in a strange tongue. Naturally, this private worship is no theological criterion. I do not know with absolute certainty that this private gift which is exercised in seclusion is genuine or not.

Yet, I do want to cite an example in this matter. A believing American soldier was wounded in Vietnam and was near death. In these hours which could have been his last he was suddenly comforted by his ability to praise the Lord in a strange tongue. A great peace came over him. He was comforted and received new courage to continue living - a courage which led to his recovery. This soldier confessed, "Never before or after this did I have this talking in tongues. But it was a definite help to me in my nearness to death."

I find no fault with this experience. The Lord gave help to his disciple in the most critical hour.

In order, however, that those who are accus­tomed to chopping everything to pieces may know that I am familiar with the psychology of borderline situations, I want to add the following description.

In borderline situations such as a dream, anes­thesia, delirium produced by fever, a drug-induced high, danger of death, and severe injuries, a person may experience that his subconscious be­comes more powerful than his conscious mind. Then, contents appear which previously were la­tent. In the case of believing people whose conver­sion and rebirth extends down into the deepest layers of their souls, the contents which arise out of the unconscious are then religious in nature. In the case of the soldier it can also have been an activa­tion of subconscious contents. The Lord used it, however, for his purposes. Thus it was, in any case, an act of the God of mercy. But it can just as well have been an activity of the Holy Spirit. So let us not approach boldly and irreverently where God deals mercifully with his children.

To summarize this long discussion, I must say that I regret the "pentecostal legality" in Mel Tari's book. I cannot accept that.

On the other hand, I do not belong among those who assume that they must close all doors with the end of the apostolic period. Who are we that we want to dictate to the Holy Spirit whether and how and when He may act. I am afraid of this theological presumptuousness and arrogance.

3. Anthropologist Dr. Pearl England.

The third great front in the battle against the In­donesian revival developed in the western world. First, I want to discuss the report by Dr. Pearl England. She is an anthropologist and teacher at Man kato State College. As a member of the Luther­an church, she traveled to Timor in order to investigate the revival and the miracles. Upon her return, she confirmed the many healings and conversions but denied the miracle of the wine and other prominent miracles. The report by Dr. England appeared in many American church newspapers. I had five different at my disposal. In response to her report, I have several questions.

1. Who knows the revival which originated in Soe better - a visitor from the West, who spent five weeks traveling there and then was in Soe for approximately two or three weeks, or Superintendent J. M. E. Daniel, who has been directing the church in Soe for more than fifteen years?
2. Furthermore, how much time did Dr. Eng­land have to devote to the revival? She is an anthropologist and while on Timor studied mainly the occult phenomena. She brought along with her a list of eighty fetishes which are used on Timor.
3. Thirdly, does Dr. England possess the gift of spiritual discernment if she attends Catholic charismatic prayer meetings as is reported in one of the five church newspapers?

In the so-called charismatic movement there are very few spiritual gifts but many mediumistic and suggestive powers existing in religious disguise. My experiences with this charismatic movement have shown me that much of what goes on here is unbiblical and that one finds here least of all, the gift of spiritual discernment.

Dr. England may certainly be a firm and devout Christian. Yet, as soon as we succumb to the pull of occult and mediumistic powers, our ability to form judgments becomes con­fused. This danger exists whenever one be­comes too involved with pagan magic fetishes. This can even happen if a person harbors fetishes and cultic objects and amulets in his home.

I observed the dulling of the power of discernment just as clearly among members of the so-called charismatic movements, which usually have a more suggestive and mediumistic than charismatic character.

d. The fourth question is why does Dr. England believe God capable of the greatest miracle and also confirms this miracle on the basis of her visit to Timor, while rejecting the lesser miracle? A rebirth through the Holy Spirit, the transformation of the sinful human heart, is greater than the transformation of water into wine. Why this illogical reasoning?

e. My fifth question is whether Dr. England accepts the series of witnesses cited in I Corin­thians 15:4-8? If she believes that testimony, as I assume she does, why does she, then, not believe the series of witnesses from Soe?

The two pastors, Daniel and Manuein, were witnesses of the wine miracle as were 1500 people of Soe and the surrounding area and, in addition, the 120 team leaders during the period 1967 to 1971. Furthermore, the inter­national team which I mentioned in a previ­ous chapter witnessed this. Petrus Oktavianus was present three times, I myself, two times. We have not been deceived by tricks or fraud and are telling the truth.

It is tragic that several church periodicals take up the report of Dr. England with a lot of fuss. In many alike periodicals one can detect a malicious joy, an attitude which says, "There you see, it is all a deception."

But that is not it at all. These are facts. The western world has brought guilt upon itself in this affair.

In 1972, a believing American, George Otis, was in Soe. He had a long conversation with Pastor Daniel and asked him, among other things, about the miracles. Rev. Daniel answered as follows:

"Criticisms from overseas are causing some con­fusion and problems now in Indonesia. I hope they won't continue much longer. They could bring di­visions here if we are not prayerful.

"There are also some miracles still occurring here. How can I deny it so close to me? Yes, there has been water turned into wine once again this year. I have tasted it and, yes, there are still healings taking place."

We will not conclude this chapter without men­tioning the sciences.

From the area of nuclear physics we know that the principle of the transformation of matter has become generally recognized. If under the applica­tion of great energy from an atom smasher, several electrons are shot out of or into matter, then the matter is transformed. In this way one could pro­duce a gold atom out of a lead atom. Here the medieval alchemists' dream is fulfilled. Technically this procedure is not profitable because the value of the energy which must be applied is much greater than that of the material which is produced.

Yet, another interesting fact should be men­tioned. Professor Schaafs of the University of Ber­lin is the world expert in the area of molecular acoustics. Years ago at a personal meeting, he said to me, "If a double molecule of water is hit by a shower of cosmic rays, then a simple molecule of alcohol is produced." With this information the transformation of the water is comprehensible in principle.

I do not want to be misunderstood in my men­tion of these scientific explanations. I believe in the Bible and its miracles even if they can not be ex­plained scientifically. But, if God occasionally gives us a cue through a scientist, then we need not reject that.

In conclusion, then, we have to establish the fact that the testimony of Dr. England is too weak, too one-sided, too incomplete when seen in relation­ship to the long series of witnesses which I have cited.

I urgently request that the Indonesians now be spared from the visits of the critics. Western criticism has already caused too much damage.

4. Mooneyham's Biblically Sound Report

The fourth criticism came from the pen of W. Stanley Mooneyham. I met this brother in 1966 at the Berlin Congress for World Evangelism. Biblically, this report is the best that I have ever pen written about Indonesia in the United States. A clear spiritual orientation, a fine sense of discernment!

There are, in fact, several things which I want to underline for emphasis.  In one of my German books, I have expressed something similar to what Mooneyham  says  about the Trinity (circulus majestatis).  Our proclamation must be Christ-centered and not Holy Ghost-centered. For years I have been proclaiming ceaselessly: the giver is more than the gifts.

For some time I had been trying to reach Mooneyham in order to obtain permission to print at least his section on the Trinity. I have now received that permission. Here is a section from Mooneyham's discussion of the Trinity:

"First of all, the astounding humility of the Trin­ity precludes any exaltation of the Holy Spirit over Christ. Jesus said the "Spirit of truth shall testify of me" (John 15:26). The Godhead is agreed that it is the Son who shall be exalted. The Son magnifies the Father (John 17:4) while the Father honors the Son (Philippians 2:9-11) and the Holy Spirit reveals and glorifies Him (John 16:14-15).

"Even the gifts of the Spirit are meant to bring about, not the fullness of the Spirit, but the "fullness of Christ" in the believer (Ephesians 4:11-13). St. Paul's admonition to be filled with the Spirit is an imperative plea for the appropriation of the Spirit's presence, not a reference to His glory.

"In some mysterious way, any exaltation of the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit quenches His power. His purpose is to magnify the Son and He is deeply grieved when the Spirit's work itself is glorified.

"How strange is our intoxication with the gifts over the Giver! It is Christ and His redeeming work, not the Holy Spirit and His ministry of gift­ing the body, which is to be lifted up. The blessed Holy Spirit will not be exalted over the Son".

I am also frightened off by the mania for miracle which has received so much emphasis in the West in connection with the Indonesian revival. For me the greatest and most powerful miracle of all is Jesus himself Who, on our behalf, left heaven to endure persecution, suffering, and crucifixion at the hands of men and then received His divine exaltation in the resurrection and ascension. This miracle of His pierced hands and feet has remained with me already for many years both before my eyes and in my heart.

I also want to underline Mooneyham's rejection of the charismatic distortion of the revivals. The charismatic spectacles are not the norm for revival. We see this in the Canadian revival, which has not exaggerated a desire for gifts but rather represents a movement of repentance and purifica­tion. In the Canadian revival people even practice definite rejection of the movement of speaking in tongues and the so-called charismatic movements.

Again I share the opinion of Mooneyham that we cannot copy the Indonesian revival here in the West. God proceeds differently with us who have the Bible as the inspired Word of God than with these illiterates of the jungle villages.

Let me permit myself several marginal notes. Because he has never visited Soe personally, Mooneyham sees some things differently. If he had visited Soe, he would have met Fallo. Then, Mooneyham would no longer be able to say, "None were trained." Fallo is an educated man and so is Kapitan. Fallo is the representative for the governor and was a member, not a leader, of a team. Kapitan is the President of the Congress on Timor and is actively involved in the revival.

Mooneyham also says that no case of resurrection of the dead has been medically confirmed. I must qualify this statement. There are no doctors in jungle villages. Thus, they cannot be called in to examine a case. Kupang has a few doctors. They are, however, too far away and too expensive for the jungle people. But there is a point at which the islanders know that a person is dead, namely, when definite signs of decomposition become apparent. This happens very fast in the tropical heat.

I am familiar with a drastic case. A man was "dead". A simple, uneducated woman looked at him and said. "He isn't dead. He doesn't stink". She was right.  The "dead man" regained consciousness again after a few hours. He had only been in a cataleptic coma.

But, it seems that there is also a case which has been medically confirmed. My informant on Timor was a missionary who had been trained in the West. He told me about a child who had been receiving medical care and died. The doctor informed the parents that they should pick up the child for burial. They did so. However, they did not bury the child but rather sent a messenger to Mother S. She came, and prayed over the child, and it was sent back to its parents.

In conclusion, then, even if we reject every mania for miracles, we may not now fall into the error of rejecting miracles which actually have happened. But, let us not forget that the greatest miracle is the renewing of man and his obedient following after Jesus.

5. Criticism of Dr. Peters

The fifth criticism comes from Dr. George Peters, an instructor from Dallas Theological Seminary.

This seminary has a good reputation. The work of one of its former professors, Dr. Merrill F. Unger has contributed significantly to this. His books are well-known both in Europe and America. I wish I did not have to write the following section. But, obvious untruths which have been distri­buted in print to a wide public cannot be left un­challenged.

Dr. George Peters has written an article entitled Indonesia Revival: True or False? I have already taken a position on this in a four-page pamphlet. This leaflet can be obtained without cost from Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501. For this reason, I can be more brief here. What kinds of truths are in the article of Dr. Peters?

a. He writes, "Dr. Koch came much too late". Yet, the truth is that I was in Indonesia in 1963,1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969 - a total of five times. I can instantiate this by means of the reports in my German books. In 1963, the revival had not yet begun, but already on individual islands which I visited, a small fire had been kindled. Dr. Peters was in Indonesia in 1970 and in 1973. Now, who really did come much too late? Is it; perhaps I, who spent time in Indonesia, already 7, 4, 2, 1 years before he did? Or does time run backwards for Dr. Peters?

b. Dr. Peters writes, "It is a fact that Dr. Koch did not witness the miracles." That, again, is an untruth. I have participated in the experience of a whole series of miracles of various types. It is not necessary to recount them all here. Enough is recorded in the book Revival in Indonesia. This present book also contains a report on the wine miracle. Where does Dr. Peters get the boldness to spread such incorrect information?

c. Dr. Peters writes, "Dr. Koch's book is the ill of listening to tape-recorded stories". Again it is an untruth. I have not heard a single tape!

d. Dr. Peters writes, "Dr. Koch confuses the re­vival on Timor and the evangelistic revival, which is issuing from the Batu Bible Institute." The following points will show who confuses the public and leads it astray.

I know Batu better than Dr. Peters does. Twice I was there for a period of four weeks and gave lectures. Then, too, I worked together with the Scheunemann brothers on Timor and, in one case, Roti. Furthermore, Petrus Oktavianus and Detmar Scheunemann gave lectures in Germany as my guests. In Stuttgart we had three thousand people in attendance. I also held an evangelistic series in the church of Dr. Scheunemann, the father of the two Scheunemann brothers who are mis­sionaries. From Detmar Scheunemann I received an explanation of the relationship between Timor and Batu.

In the Spring of 1964, Detmar heard of a movement of healing on Timor, especially connected with the ministry of J. A. Ratuwalu. This teacher had a powerful gift of healing. According to the information Detmar received, thousands were being healed. Upon hearing this, Detmar went to Timor, where he stayed several months observing this movement of healing. Because he discovered many biblical errors, he stepped in to correct them. In this way, he rendered a valuable service on Timor. This movement of healing was the forerunner of the revival on Timor.

At this time Batu did not yet have a revival. At least two years passed before the revival impulse spread from Timor to Batu.

Naturally Batu is today faced with the task of making corrections where abuses have wanted to steal in. But let us hold fast to one thing, namely, that the revival was not carried from Batu to Timor but from Timor to Batu. It is also clear that the revival did not originate with the pastors and missionaries but with the islanders, Miss Hennie Tunliu, known as Priscilla, Nahor Leo, nephew of Pastor Daniel, Franz Selan and others.

It is not my presentation but the report of Dr. Peters that is inexact. I spent plenty of time with these brothers and also with Petrus Oktavianus, who, out of modesty, requested that I not use his name in the book Revival in Indonesia. For this reason I called him Pak Elias.

e. Now comes the sorest point in Dr. Peter's report. As his star witness he cites Dr. Pieter Middlekoop, the Dutch instructor at the institute in Kupang. He writes that without the ministry of Dr. Pieter Middelkoop and the faithful and diligent work of Pastor Daniel, the revival from the human point of view could never have come.

Pastor Daniel is, in fact, a good man. He gave his testimony once in my presence before approximately 120 missionaries in Batu in 1968 and said he had taken a critical position against the revival for one year before the Lord convinced him one year after the beginning of the revival! Then it not possible that he contributed to the coming of the revival.

According to Dr. Peters, Dr. Middelkoop's ministry is supposed to have been a preparation for revival. Without doubt, this Dutchman has done a good work in the field of Bible translation for the church and his mission. This fact is recognized by church leaders. However, among the believers he does not have the best reputation. The instructors of his Seminary introduced Biblical criticism to Timor. From the beginning this Seminary was an opponent to the revival. And for Dr. Peters, Dr. Middelkoop is the star witness!

To show the attitude of Dr. Middelkoop's Seminary I bring the English translation of a letter received from a Dutch scientist, Dr. J. ter Vrugt-Lentz.

Geldrop, April 24, 1972 Dear Dr. Koch:

After reading your book, "Uns Herr wirst Du Frieden schaffen" I called the mission office of our church because I was surprised that I had never found anything about the revival on Timor in our church papers. I was referred to a pastor who had returned from Timor in 1970 and was an expert in this matter.

I then called him to ask if he had read your book and what he knew of all these matters. He said that he had read your book, but apparently, an earlier edition. He thought you had received your reports from Pentecostals. He had been in Soe once himself in 1969 and had tried in vain to locate even a single man who had been raised from the dead. As far as the wine miracle that he had heard about is concerned, when he asked about it, someone confessed to him that they had fabricated this wine themselves by crushing overly ripe bananas with their fingers and letting them ferment in bottles of water. Furthermore, while praying with a group for the uncovering of hidden fetishes, a native pastor secretly let a fetish slip out his sleeve, and thus the prayer had apparently been answered. On the whole there was much that was not true and much exaggeration in these matters, especially in the periodicals of American mission societies because such stories promote generous giving.

He had worked on Timor for several years himself and, as he told me, had worked at improving the theological training of the church office-bearers. I am not able to recall the name of the village where he had worked, but it began with a "K," and now I ask myself whether I was speaking with the modern Dutch theologian whom you mention on page 390 of your book. He described the revival movement as a "pagan messianism" which would soon be extinguished again. He found the sermons of the pastors poor and said they could not satisfy the spiritual hunger of the people, and since the people in southern countries are susceptible to emotional excesses and to delusions, such stories could arise.

As far as I am concerned, I am no theologian, but for years I have been a presbyter in the Hervormde Kerk of the Netherlands and am involved very much profes­sionally with the history of religion and with patristics.

Signed

Dr. J. ter Vrugt-Lentz

Dr. Peters calls my book incomplete because I have not mentioned "the preparatory work of Dr. Middelkoop and his institute".

It was impossible for me to do this. The truth had to be told. I want to cite an extreme example which does not apply to this institute. Bultmann was a "great theologian" but yet a man who devastated and destroyed the congregation of Jesus. He has entered into the history of theology but not into the history of the Kingdom of God.

The institute of Kupang may enter into the history of missions or of the Timorese church but hardly into the history of the Kingdom of God. An institute that uses the terms pagan exuberance and pagan messianism in describing such a miraculous revival as the one on Timor, at which tens of thousands have been converted to Christ, has no right to be considered a preparer of the revival; at the most it could be included among those opposing the revival. I gladly accept the reproach of Dr. Peters on this point.

Here I want to provide a biblical reference. In the story of the rich man and poor Lazarus in Luke 16, the name of the pious Lazarus is preserved. Yet, the name of the rich man is not mentioned.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15). ". . . thou hast de­stroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever" (Psalm 9:5).

Bultmann and Lazarus are two extreme examples. The institute of Kupang lies somewhere be­tween them. This institute has no business in a book on revival.

Indonesian Revival: True or False?

The Indonesian revival is true, but this prelimi­nary report of Dr. Peters is false in many points.

It is a tragedy that God has revealed His majesty to this island world, and that people then try to tear this majesty into pieces with their criticism, their unbelief, and their intellectual arrogance.

On the occasion of my tour through the United States in May of 1973, I heard a good statement in the Beth Eden Baptist Church of Dr. Matteson. A staff member said, "Our theology is life-related." He meant that our attitude toward the revivals and toward all acts of God is dependent on our own spiritual life style.

A man who is filled with the Spirit of God judges differently concerning spiritual phenomena than a very intelligent man without the Holy Spirit. I in­tend this as a general statement and am not apply­ing it to anyone who is mentioned in this book.

I will now mention a characteristic aspect of revivals.

Certain patterns always appear along with revivals on all continents. At the Timor revival many I pastors - excluding some notable exceptions - remained outside of the movement. They had, then, no part in the blessing which is connected to this revival. They had all been inoculated against the revival by the Kupang Institute and its tractors. We see the same situation in the Canadian revival. I know of cases where a spiritual revival was granted to a church. A number of the elders were seized by it, the others stood off to the side and remained critical and cold.

In this connection one is automatically reminded of the words of Matthew 24:40-41: "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left."

Also, in the Timorese Revival there are different reactions. One believes in the miracles and says the truth, the second doubts the miracles and is not able to bring the truth. Pastor Daniel has often confirmed the wine miracles before many witnesses. Some critics say it was impossible. Now who is right?

Petrus Oktavianus, Detmar Scheunemann, Progor Shimizu, Professor Iqbal, Professor Daniel Bakt, King Kusa Nope, District President Fallo, President of the Congress Kapitan, and I were all witnesses of the wine miracle. The critics say that the primitive people who confuse imagination with reality believe that. I would gladly be counted with the primitive people. I am in good company. The question is only which of us is standing in the truth and which is alongside the truth.

An image from the Old Testament comes to mind. It is the report of the river of life in Ezekiel 47:9. Wherever this river flows, it brings life to people and animals. "But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed', (Ezekiel 47:11). There are not only miry places and marshes alongside. There are also people who are standing alongside. It is a great tragedy when powerful things are happening all around us and we are sitting disinterestedly alongside. May the Lord preserve us from this!

This sorrowful chapter must end. God bestows rich blessing and men make it into a controversial case, thus leading others into danger.

Back to Dr. Peters. I can pray for him and also love him according to the command of Jesus. The Lord said in Matthew 5:44, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you".

It would have been right of Dr. Peters had he as scholar practiced objectivity, and as a Christian lover of the truth. One cannot spread untruth about another Christian, especially in print, without previously having asked him whether it is true or not. It is the order set forth in the New Testament which has been violated here.

It is not yet generally known, indeed, even the brothers in Batu, Kupang, and Soe do not suspect that I am already planning to make a sixth visit, this one to other Indonesian islands. It must be emphasized that with these visits, as with the earlier ones, it is not a matter of studying, examining, or critizing the revival. It is my purpose to bring Missionary proclamation to the natives, who have already received some thousands of Bibles and New Testaments as a gift from my mission. This sixth visit comes in response to an invitation. There is a difference as to whether the islanders welcome us or fear our visit. Only too often the leading brothers have told me that they fear the my American visits, most of all, those visits by people from Pentecostal circles.

The review of Dr. Peters also lacks objectivity in the following statement: "He [Dr. Koch] may have been 'there,' that is on some geographical spot where something had been experienced previously. . . ."

I was not only "on some spots," for I have been traveling throughout Indonesia for ten years, and much more extensively than ever has been or will I possible for Dr. Peters. Thus, this statement only serves to cast contempt on me and does not represent a truthful review.

It is interesting to see which witnesses Dr. Peters uses to base his judgments. With his reliance on men like Dr. Middelkoop and his seminary, I can understand this slanderous article against me. Men like Petrus Octavianus, King Kusa Nope, and others have not provided Dr. Peters with this untrue material with which he has tried to dispose me in public with his article, "Indonesian Revival: True or False?"

It is the curse of untruth that it must continue to bear further untruths. This article has been printed in religious periodicals in many countries. I repeat my request, I even plead in despair, people should leave the Indonesian brothers in peace and, above all, send no "examiners without the inner spiritual qualifications". Let us bear in mind the warning of Pastor Daniel, "Western criticism brings about the danger of a split among us".

For the sake of completeness, I must mention something else that will certainly make Dr. Peter happy. Unfortunately, I have an opponent in Indonesia who, for years, has missed no opportunity to harm me.

I have in no way caused this opposition. On the contrary, I have tried to placate this man with large missionary gifts which extend into the thousands. This opposition has a long history.

Many years ago I gave several lectures at the University of Tubingen at the invitation of Professor Koberle and the department of theology. Following the lectures, there was a discussion period with the students. It concerned the American extremist, William Branham, whose life God took few years ago in an automobile accident. I will include here some of my extensive material.

a. The two interpreters of Branham, the American Rev. Ruff and the Swiss Dr. Hollenweger left him. Rev. Ruff said to me, "This man is no messenger of Jesus. He is a spiritist. He gave me proof for this."

b. I have in my possession reports of healings Branham which turned out to be heavy occult burdens.

c. In my Branham collection are several sermons by him. From an examination of these, one can see
that Branham denies the Trinity of the Godhead. For this reason, a Branham sect has arisen in the
United States which believes only in Jesus and denies God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

d. In his sermons there is also the frightful statement that Cain, the first-born son of Adam,
did not descend from Adam but from a union of Eve with the snake.

e. The worst fruit of Branham is perhaps his anointing of the Indian "Brother Larry" to be the
Messiah. This Brother Larry gathers believers out the whole world around himself because the end
of all things is near. Everyone who joins this sect gives up all he owns. His followers have turned
over to him a gigantic fortune. I know a victim of this Brother Larry personally; it is a German Oman who left her husband and departed for India with her many possessions. There she delivered everything over to Brother Larry and then returned home, one day, without a penny.

At that time, I cited such arguments in the discussion and was amazed to hear a theology student defend William Branham and call him a great man of God.

In the face of these flawless arguments, the defense by the student pointed to a great spiritual confusion.

Later, I met the family of the student, which gave more knowledge about the case. His father is a Biblically-based Christian who tried to free his son from the Branham idea.

During my fourth and fifth visits in Indonesia, I found this student there as a missionary. From the first hour on, I felt the rejection and opposition of the man. He continually made trouble for me by offensive conduct and his taunting words. Through friends, I was also made aware of the fact that this Indonesian missionary spoke against me during his furloughs.

In spite of this, I pray regularly for this brother and his followers. It almost seems to me that Dr. Peters was influenced by him. Many things in the attack of Dr. Peters follow a line similar to that in the attacks of this missionary. Experience has shown me that a false theology twists the character of a man and that a healthy biblical orientation also makes the life style of the Christian biblically healthy and sober.

It is a tragedy that Christians feud with each other. This attitude does not proceed from the Holy Spirit.

There are many things I could say on this point. The American magazine Eternity, for example, has attacked me heavily because of my anti-occult books. They reproach me with having granted the devil too much honor. This criticism results from an ignorance of the American situation, which is becoming increasingly contaminated with the occult. This charge can also be refuted objectively through the reminder that I have written eight times as many books on revivals, missionary problems and about the second coming of the Lord against occult matters. But it is the same in the United States as in Europe. An editor of a periodical must always have someone with whom he ca "lock horns," or the readers will not stay with a boring magazine. They want to be fed with sensation stories.

If God has given me the task of writing and speaking against the occult, fanatical, pseudo-charismatic, modernistic movements of our time, then Christians should not attack me from behind. Objective opposition should not be carried on with slanderous charges as the Indonesian missio­nary, Dr. Peters, and, in part, Eternity magazine have done.

I close this chapter with a personal request to all my English-speaking readers. I request that they
support me with prayer in my battles on the various fronts. The battle is being fought on the following fronts:

1. The front against modernistic rationalistic theology. That is the worst false doctrine of our time.

2. The front against the extremists in the Pente­costal congregations and in the so-called charismatic movements. In this group there are also serious, faithful, sober followers of Christ whom I never attack but respect and love.

3. The front against occultism, spiritism, magic, and sorcery in every form. Here, the battle is raging most violently, for Satan answers with the heaviest attacks. I wish the Lord had not given me this assignment. I have almost been destroyed in this battle.

4. The front against cold, dead orthodoxy. These are the people who accept the Bible, believe everything, and yet remain sitting alongside. They have it all in their heads and nothing in their hearts. They lack the Holy Spirit. Please do not misunderstand. There is also a genuine living orthodoxy, which we do not attack and we are not attacked by.

5. The front against myself, against my sinful heart, against my ego, against my lack of devotion, against insufficient love for my brother, against disobedience and unfaithfulness towards the Lord. This last front has caused me the greatest pain. How many things accuse me here. How often have I said to the Lord "Crush me like a worm, I deserve it". How great is the comfort I receive from the Apostle John: "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth al things". (I John 3:20). One can even logically extend this sentence of the apostle to read: our own brothers condemn us, God is greater and more merciful than the brothers.

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CHAPTER II

THE REVIVAL IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS v AUSTRALIAN SOUTH SEA MISSION

For the last twenty years I have usually spent nine months out of every year on evangelistic trips and missionary trips throughout the world. In the course of these extended air travels, unfortunately, I have no time to travel by ship and there are always breakdowns. One of the worst ones occurred on my flight from Sydney, Australia to Port Moresby, New Guinea, then further to Wewak and to Manila in the Philippines.

A small airline on New Guinea had changed its flying plans without taking into consideration the flight plans of the large international airlines. Thus I faced an involuntary stay of two weeks on New Guinea. I was desperate, for then I could not keep lecture schedule in the Philippines. Furthermore, I did not know what I should do with so much time on New Guinea.

Our difficulties are often God's opportunities. The Lord knew about this seemingly insoluble problem and solved it so marvelously that I am still thankful for it today.

Director Griffith, the Director of the Australian South Sea Mission, came to see me and invited me visit his mission fields on New Guinea. For me it was a gift from heaven.

A small airplane of the Missionary Aviation Fel­lowship brought me from Wewak to Balif and then to other stations of the South Sea Mission.

I stayed with the missionaries Watt and Pearce and also with the women missionaries Elizabeth Schrader and Helene Held. My visit to these mission fields on New Guinea was extremely profitable for me, both spiritually and ethnologically.

In this small book I do not have the space to report everything. Perhaps a life story may be presented, the story of Peter Lus. I met him at the mission station Ilahita, where the missionary Elizabeth Schrader was serving.

Peter was born in 1930. Like many of his fellow tribesmen, he was involved in the cult of Tambaram. When he was twenty-five years old, he came to Sister Elizabeth at the mission school in order to learn how to read and write. Since the instruction centered entirely around the Bible, Peter heard the Word of God every day.

After spending three years at the school, he asked the missionary one day, "Does Jesus have so much power that he can hold on to my hand?"

You see, Peter was a quarrelsome fellow who immediately began hitting whenever he did not get his way.

The missionary answered, "Jesus can do more than that. Pray that he will do it!"

Peter did this and at the age of twenty-eight surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus. Since he was an active man, he immediately began to build a church and a school in his village. He began to give the instruction himself and gradually gathered together almost all who were between the ages of nine and eighteen.

To the heathen, his activity was a thorn in the flesh. They produced false witnesses and went with charges against him to the district officer, who was a fanatical Catholic. The evangelical mission is an offense to this underhanded man. On the basis of the statements of the false witnesses, he condemned Peter to six months in prison. The legal system on New Guinea is in a bad state.

This man, who was made to suffer even though he was innocent,  does not regret this time in prison. He became a missionary to the prisoners and was permitted to lead several to Jesus.

Because of good behavior he was released after five months. The false witnesses now feared his revenge. Peter declared to them, however, "A few years ago, I would have sought retribution. But now I forgive you for the sake of Jesus".

Peter proved himself as an assistant to the missionary. He worked five days a week without pay at the mission station. He worked the sixth day for his room and board.

God rewarded this unselfishness richly. The authorities became aware of the outstanding work Peter was doing in his teaching. When a parliament was being chosen for the Australian part of New Guinea, Peter Lus was recommended. He was actually elected as a member of parliament.

Financially things now went very well for this faithful Christian. He received about $420.00 every month, an enormous sum for an islander on New Guinea with his few needs.

What did Peter do? Every month he gave the money over to the mission station. An outstanding proof of how the Lord can prepare a faithful unself­ish tool of His grace out of a simple islander.

Next to Indonesia and Brazil, I am most attracted to New Guinea.

The Australian South Sea Evangelical Mission, which in recent years has united with a German South Sea Mission, is permitted to render a blessed pioneer service on this island which is still full o pagan cults, magic, and even cannibalism.

At this point, I especially want to thank Director Griffith for opening this door for me at that time when I was in a difficult situation.

I will also never forget the report of the pilot who brought me to this mission station. We made a small detour. He showed me a valley in which approximately three thousand islanders were living. He reported to me, "One day, a delegation o men came out of this valley to a mission station. They declared, 'We have heard of a marvelous man by the name of Jesus. We want to learn more about this. Could you provide us with a teacher who would tell us about this Jesus?'"

When I heard this report, I said to the Lord, "Is it possible that I could pull up my stakes in the western world and go to New Guinea as a missionary?"

The Lord did not grant me this request because he had another plan for me. Since that time, I have been permitted to visit hundreds of mission stations on all continents and serve them with the Word of God. That was more than what I had requested. The Lord goes beyond our requests an our understanding.

(My New Guinea experiences are contained in the German book Unter der Fuhrung Jesu.)

Since the time of my two visits to New Guinea, I have been interceding for the work of the missionaries of the Australian South Sea Evangelical Mission and have been sending them Christian books in the English language free of charge.

The Lord has granted a special blessing to the mission fields of the Australian South Sea Evangelical Mission. One of these mission fields experienced a miraculous revival, about which I will now report. It concerns a revival on the Solomon Islands.

The tool which the Lord used on the Solomon islands is Muri Thompson. I met him for the first time in 1966 at the World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin, which was organized by Billy Graham.

Then I met him again in New Zealand, Muri Thompson is a Maori. The Ma