The groundwork for the Translation
message had been prepared for some time; in 1902 Mrs. Penn-Lewis had written Studies in Job, which described “the
mystery of the suffering which will be a message for the church in its final
stages on the eve of the ‘Translation.’”[1] Evan Roberts then received “a revelation by
the Holy Spirit of . . . our Lord[’s] coming . . . in our life-time . . . the
‘translation’ . . . is at hand.”[2] Furthermore, “the Revival which broke out in
Wales in 1904 had a dispensational significance, and was actually,
speaking in a general sense, the beginning of the period in which God set His
Hand to close up the Christian dispensation,” as the “issue of War On The Saints had a [similar]
dispensational significance [which] can be seen if it be considered in relation
to the Welsh Revival . . . because of the ‘Time of the End,’ in which it
appeared”—namely, the few years before the end of the world which was to take
place in 1914.[3] The “latter rain” spoken of by Joel, both
Penn-Lewis and Pentecostalism knew, was not actually a prophecy about rain, as
the context of Joel 2:23 would indicate, but an allegory about the Holy Spirit
being poured out.[4] The “Revival inWales ”
was the “beginning of the ‘latter rain’ which [would] prepare theChurch of God
the Saints was written so that the Church could make the second coming of
Christ take place, as Christian overcomers learned to bind the devil and “drive
the forces of Satan from their place in the heavenlies” by warfare prayer:
message had been prepared for some time; in 1902 Mrs. Penn-Lewis had written Studies in Job, which described “the
mystery of the suffering which will be a message for the church in its final
stages on the eve of the ‘Translation.’”[1] Evan Roberts then received “a revelation by
the Holy Spirit of . . . our Lord[’s] coming . . . in our life-time . . . the
‘translation’ . . . is at hand.”[2] Furthermore, “the Revival which broke out in
Wales in 1904 had a dispensational significance, and was actually,
speaking in a general sense, the beginning of the period in which God set His
Hand to close up the Christian dispensation,” as the “issue of War On The Saints had a [similar]
dispensational significance [which] can be seen if it be considered in relation
to the Welsh Revival . . . because of the ‘Time of the End,’ in which it
appeared”—namely, the few years before the end of the world which was to take
place in 1914.[3] The “latter rain” spoken of by Joel, both
Penn-Lewis and Pentecostalism knew, was not actually a prophecy about rain, as
the context of Joel 2:23 would indicate, but an allegory about the Holy Spirit
being poured out.[4] The “Revival in
was the “beginning of the ‘latter rain’ which [would] prepare the
the Saints was written so that the Church could make the second coming of
Christ take place, as Christian overcomers learned to bind the devil and “drive
the forces of Satan from their place in the heavenlies” by warfare prayer:
[Through the techniques of War on the Saints, those with the Highest Life were] making way for
the Church to ascend to her place of triumph with the Lord. . . . The . . .
greatest, ultimate result of the operation of the truths concerning the
deceptive workings of Satan and the way of victory [brought to light in War on the Saints], is in connection
with the dispensational position of the Church, in view of the closing days of
the age, and the Millennial Appearing of the Ascended Lord.[6]
the Church to ascend to her place of triumph with the Lord. . . . The . . .
greatest, ultimate result of the operation of the truths concerning the
deceptive workings of Satan and the way of victory [brought to light in War on the Saints], is in connection
with the dispensational position of the Church, in view of the closing days of
the age, and the Millennial Appearing of the Ascended Lord.[6]
That is, the “dispensational
significance of the Revival in 1904 meant . . . the beginning of the decade
allotted by God for the awakening, maturing and preparation of those who
belonged to the Body of Christ—all in view of ultimate Translation . . . [and]
the Coming Reign of Christ” ten years[7]
after the 1904 Welsh holiness revival.[8]
significance of the Revival in 1904 meant . . . the beginning of the decade
allotted by God for the awakening, maturing and preparation of those who
belonged to the Body of Christ—all in view of ultimate Translation . . . [and]
the Coming Reign of Christ” ten years[7]
after the 1904 Welsh holiness revival.[8]
For Roberts and Penn-Lewis, the
impending Translation to heaven of the elite minority of Christians in the
Highest Life was evident because of signs:
impending Translation to heaven of the elite minority of Christians in the
Highest Life was evident because of signs:
The week of the Advent Message witnessed such events in
the world that it was called the “Black Week,” [for that week] . . . the
following were some of the notable disasters which occurred. In Wales the Senhenydd Colliery disaster; the collapse of a Zeppelin in the North Sea; the burning of a liner in
mid-ocean; the wreck of an express in Liverpool;
a railway accident in London;
and in Russia so many railway
disasters that a special commission of enquiry was appointed—all occurring
within the one week.[9]
the world that it was called the “Black Week,” [for that week] . . . the
following were some of the notable disasters which occurred. In Wales the Senhenydd Colliery disaster; the collapse of a Zeppelin in the North Sea; the burning of a liner in
mid-ocean; the wreck of an express in Liverpool;
a railway accident in London;
and in Russia so many railway
disasters that a special commission of enquiry was appointed—all occurring
within the one week.[9]
Such were
evident signs that the period of “fiery tribulation” had come and of the end of
the world in 1914.[10] The Overcomer
magazine was providentially prepared as God’s instrument to draw out the small
minority of Christians who, like Roberts and Penn-Lewis, would receive
post-conversion Spirit baptism, pass through the Higher Life to the Highest
Life, and be caught up in the Translation:
evident signs that the period of “fiery tribulation” had come and of the end of
the world in 1914.[10] The Overcomer
magazine was providentially prepared as God’s instrument to draw out the small
minority of Christians who, like Roberts and Penn-Lewis, would receive
post-conversion Spirit baptism, pass through the Higher Life to the Highest
Life, and be caught up in the Translation:
[The Overcomer]
picked up its readers in 1909, drawing out, as with a magnet, from the midst of
others, those who knew in any degree the two-fold message of the Cross, as
taught in Romans vi., and then led them on, line upon line, precept upon
precept, through the earlier stages of the Baptism of the Spirit, the
experimental pathway of death with Christ, the life joined in spirit with
Christ in God, and the war in the heavenlies, depicted in Ephesians vi. The culmination was reached in 1913 in the
Translation message, which in 1914 has been amplified more in detail concerning
experimental preparation for the imminent Coming of the Lord. . . . [T]he paper
has been a Testimony committed to certain members of the Body of Christ, to
declare to other members of the Body, for the specific leading of them on in
the deep things of God in preparation for their reigning with Christ.[11]
picked up its readers in 1909, drawing out, as with a magnet, from the midst of
others, those who knew in any degree the two-fold message of the Cross, as
taught in Romans vi., and then led them on, line upon line, precept upon
precept, through the earlier stages of the Baptism of the Spirit, the
experimental pathway of death with Christ, the life joined in spirit with
Christ in God, and the war in the heavenlies, depicted in Ephesians vi. The culmination was reached in 1913 in the
Translation message, which in 1914 has been amplified more in detail concerning
experimental preparation for the imminent Coming of the Lord. . . . [T]he paper
has been a Testimony committed to certain members of the Body of Christ, to
declare to other members of the Body, for the specific leading of them on in
the deep things of God in preparation for their reigning with Christ.[11]
Thus, those
who “were among the most spiritual of the Church six years ago, and . . . were
then able to recognize the truths set forth as of God” in the paper, were by
1914 fully equipped by it for the reign of Christ which was to come in that
year.[12] Indeed, at times even an exact day for the
Rapture was pointed out. On April 16,
1914, Evan Roberts “entered the breakfast room dressed in his going-out
suit. When he came back he told [all
those present], ‘The Translation is very near.
Prepare!’” All present “got
tickets to mark everything and . . . went to [their] rooms to put all
straight.”[13] However, the world did not end—neither on
that day, nor in that year. The tickets
marking everything that would be left behind needed to come off again. Such a false prophecy (cf. Deuteronomy 18:20-22),
however, was, in Roberts’s mind, not really a false prophecy. Nor were Mrs. Penn-Lewis and he false
prophets for making, endorsing, promulgating, and defending their false dating
scheme and proclaiming their lie as God’s truth. On the contrary, it was evident to them—at
least ex post facto—that the sin was
not in the date-setting pair, but in the universal church. While at first this explanation for failure
was not clear, since in late 1915 Penn-Lewis was still “striving ‘to hold fast
the ‘Translation Faith’ . . . thinking of how near . . . was the ‘heavenly
call,’”[14]
it finally became apparent that the abysmal failure of the prophecy—which had
been widely proclaimed in the secular press[15]
so that Christianity was mocked and derided when it failed—was not because of
the sins of those who had made and propagated it. “[T]he delay factor [was] caused by lack of
full spiritual unity,” Roberts and Penn-Lewis taught: “Divisions must cease, disunity must be
confessed, hasty judgments must be canceled, warnings against each other
destroyed, certain books withdrawn, and tears of repentance shed,”[16]
at least by others. No tears of
repentance, however, were apparently needed on their part for their false
prophecy.
who “were among the most spiritual of the Church six years ago, and . . . were
then able to recognize the truths set forth as of God” in the paper, were by
1914 fully equipped by it for the reign of Christ which was to come in that
year.[12] Indeed, at times even an exact day for the
Rapture was pointed out. On April 16,
1914, Evan Roberts “entered the breakfast room dressed in his going-out
suit. When he came back he told [all
those present], ‘The Translation is very near.
Prepare!’” All present “got
tickets to mark everything and . . . went to [their] rooms to put all
straight.”[13] However, the world did not end—neither on
that day, nor in that year. The tickets
marking everything that would be left behind needed to come off again. Such a false prophecy (cf. Deuteronomy 18:20-22),
however, was, in Roberts’s mind, not really a false prophecy. Nor were Mrs. Penn-Lewis and he false
prophets for making, endorsing, promulgating, and defending their false dating
scheme and proclaiming their lie as God’s truth. On the contrary, it was evident to them—at
least ex post facto—that the sin was
not in the date-setting pair, but in the universal church. While at first this explanation for failure
was not clear, since in late 1915 Penn-Lewis was still “striving ‘to hold fast
the ‘Translation Faith’ . . . thinking of how near . . . was the ‘heavenly
call,’”[14]
it finally became apparent that the abysmal failure of the prophecy—which had
been widely proclaimed in the secular press[15]
so that Christianity was mocked and derided when it failed—was not because of
the sins of those who had made and propagated it. “[T]he delay factor [was] caused by lack of
full spiritual unity,” Roberts and Penn-Lewis taught: “Divisions must cease, disunity must be
confessed, hasty judgments must be canceled, warnings against each other
destroyed, certain books withdrawn, and tears of repentance shed,”[16]
at least by others. No tears of
repentance, however, were apparently needed on their part for their false
prophecy.
In fact, according to the
date-setting pair, part of the reason Christ did not return in 1914 was that
others had criticized Evan Roberts for making such a prophecy.[17] Had the false prophecy been received rather
than rejected, it would have come to pass.
While it was therefore apparently evident that those who rejected the
supernatural visitations of Roberts and Penn-Lewis were the real problem,
around this time there arose “deep depression in Evan’s spirit and new forms of
pain in Jessie’s body,” and not only did publication of The Overcomer cease, but “the prayer watch was . . . moved
elsewhere, and the book production slowed down and suspended.”[18] The Overcomer
magazine did not return until 1920,[19]
by which time, it seems, the fallout from Roberts’s and Penn-Lewis’s blatantly
false prophecy had been mitigated.
date-setting pair, part of the reason Christ did not return in 1914 was that
others had criticized Evan Roberts for making such a prophecy.[17] Had the false prophecy been received rather
than rejected, it would have come to pass.
While it was therefore apparently evident that those who rejected the
supernatural visitations of Roberts and Penn-Lewis were the real problem,
around this time there arose “deep depression in Evan’s spirit and new forms of
pain in Jessie’s body,” and not only did publication of The Overcomer cease, but “the prayer watch was . . . moved
elsewhere, and the book production slowed down and suspended.”[18] The Overcomer
magazine did not return until 1920,[19]
by which time, it seems, the fallout from Roberts’s and Penn-Lewis’s blatantly
false prophecy had been mitigated.
[1] Pg. 91, The Trials
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Brynmor P. Jones.North
Brunswick , NJ
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Brynmor P. Jones.
Brunswick
[2] Pg. 177, The
Overcomer, December 1913.
Overcomer, December 1913.
[3] Pg. 190, “War on
the Saints: A
brief review of its dispensational significance,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
the Saints: A
brief review of its dispensational significance,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
[4] This allegorization, of course, was central in the
“latter rain” doctrine of Pentecostalism; the “latter rain” concept was
believed and taught by even the earliest Pentecostals such as Charles Parham
(cf. “The Strange Early History of Pentecostalism,” by David Cloud, and
numerous other resources on the Fundamental
Baptist CD-ROM Library; also pg. 81, Vision
of the Disinherited: The Making of
American Pentecostalism, Robert Anderson; pgs. 26-28, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism, Dayton).
“latter rain” doctrine of Pentecostalism; the “latter rain” concept was
believed and taught by even the earliest Pentecostals such as Charles Parham
(cf. “The Strange Early History of Pentecostalism,” by David Cloud, and
numerous other resources on the Fundamental
Baptist CD-ROM Library; also pg. 81, Vision
of the Disinherited: The Making of
American Pentecostalism, Robert Anderson; pgs. 26-28, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism, Dayton).
[5] Pg. 17, The
Awakening inWales
Jessie Penn-Lewis.
Awakening in
Jessie Penn-Lewis.
[6] Chapter 12, War on
the Saints, Penn-Lewis.
the Saints, Penn-Lewis.
[7] Pg. 194, “The Change of the Dispensations,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
[8] Pg. 190, “War on
the Saints: A
brief review of its dispensational significance,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
the Saints: A
brief review of its dispensational significance,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
[9] Pg. 191, “War on
the Saints: A
brief review of its dispensational significance,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
the Saints: A
brief review of its dispensational significance,” in The Overcomer magazine, December 1914.
[10] When the world did not end in 1914, Jessie Penn-Lewis
retained much of the theology developed around her and Evan Roberts’s
date-setting; thus, she preached in 1927, the “great tribulation” was almost
upon the world, and “with prophetic words . . . she spoke of days of persecution
which the Church w[ould] face in the near future” (pgs. 296, 301, Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis: A Memoir, Mary N. Garrard).
retained much of the theology developed around her and Evan Roberts’s
date-setting; thus, she preached in 1927, the “great tribulation” was almost
upon the world, and “with prophetic words . . . she spoke of days of persecution
which the Church w[ould] face in the near future” (pgs. 296, 301, Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis: A Memoir, Mary N. Garrard).
[11] Pg. 174, “The Finished Testimony,” by Jessie Penn-Lewis,
in The Overcomer, December 1914.
in The Overcomer, December 1914.
[12] Pg. 174, “The Finished Testimony,” by Jessie Penn-Lewis,
in The Overcomer, December 1914.
in The Overcomer, December 1914.
[13] Pg. 248, The Trials
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones.
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones.
[14] Pg. 249, The Trials
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones. The eschatological views of her later years
are recorded on pgs. 281-290, Ibid.
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones. The eschatological views of her later years
are recorded on pgs. 281-290, Ibid.
[15] Pg. 178, The
Overcomer, December 1913. The Overcomer magazine itself had a
worldwide influence, reaching “the spiritual section of the Church in every
land,” being distributed in “Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Soudan [sic], Egypt, North Africa, Japan, Korea,
China, Thibet [sic], India, Burmah [sic], Northern and Southern Europe,
North and South and Central America, and isle after isle on the seas” (pg. 186,
The Overcomer, December 1914).
Overcomer, December 1913. The Overcomer magazine itself had a
worldwide influence, reaching “the spiritual section of the Church in every
land,” being distributed in “Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Soudan [sic], Egypt, North Africa, Japan, Korea,
China, Thibet [sic], India, Burmah [sic], Northern and Southern Europe,
North and South and Central America, and isle after isle on the seas” (pg. 186,
The Overcomer, December 1914).
[16] Pg. 214, The Trials
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones. One notes that this requirement that
spiritual unity and holiness increase as a prerequisite for the coming of
Christ is exactly the opposite of what Scripture affirms the last days will be
like (2 Timothy 3:1ff.)—but since setting dates for the return of Christ is
also exactly the opposite of the teaching of Scripture (Matthew 24:36), perhaps
one ought not to be surprised.
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones. One notes that this requirement that
spiritual unity and holiness increase as a prerequisite for the coming of
Christ is exactly the opposite of what Scripture affirms the last days will be
like (2 Timothy 3:1ff.)—but since setting dates for the return of Christ is
also exactly the opposite of the teaching of Scripture (Matthew 24:36), perhaps
one ought not to be surprised.
[17] Pgs. 196-199, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
[18] Pg. 216, The Trials
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones.
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones.
[19] Pg. 218, The Trials
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones.
and Triumphs of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis, Jones.
People who promote Evan Roberts need to at least be honest enough to tell those following them about the facts in this post.
Thomas, I hear a lot of Independent Baptists promoting the teachings of Evan Roberts, but I can't recall anybody promoting him personally. Do you know of anybody who promotes him?
As an aside, I do know of IBs who promote Watchman Nee, who perhaps isn't much better.
Mat Dvorachek
Dear Mat,
I'm glad you don't know anyone promoting Evan Roberts personally. Generally people who teach on the 1904-5 Welsh Revival teach that he was the great leader of that revival, rather than the truth, and what many of the Baptists in Wales at the time thought, that he helped to destroy it.
Watchman Nee possibly even worse; cf:
http://faithsaves.net/watchman-nee/
At least Roberts professed belief in the Trinity, while Nee was a modalist.