Written by Dean Smith, Edited and Revised by Rev. Dr. Nadyne Wilds-Gilbert
NORTH BATTLEFORD, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA
HOME TO THE 1948 REVIVAL CREDIT:
TUNGILIK/WIKIPEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS
Canada has been home to two notable revivals in the past 100 years, the more recent being the Toronto Blessing, which started in January 1994, and a revival that hit North Battleford, Saskatchewan, in 1948.
The latter was much different from the other revivals in North America in the 20th century. First, the Azusa Street Revival provided the stage for today’s Pentecostal Movement, which started in 1906 in Los Angeles. Both Toronto and Los Angeles were the most significant urban centers of their day, and because of this, many people were affected.
However, North Battleford was different. It was situated in a little-known province in Canada. At the time, it was an obscure town in the northern part of that province, making it not easy to visit.
The 1948 revival occurred at Sharon Bible College, part of a more extensive ministry known as Sharon’s Orphanage, which has since been renamed Global Missions.
The school began in an old World War II airport hangar. Approximately 70 students attended the Bible school, led by three men: George Hawtin and Percy Hunt, Pastors of the Pentecostal Assemblies, and Foursquare Gospel Pastor Herrick Holt.
On February 11, 1948, a young woman prophesied that God had opened a door for the students to walk through. A second prophecy stated that this door involved the Gifts of The Holy Spirit and Church Ministries: Apostles and Prophets (Ephesians 4:11-16).
The Holy Spirit fell with power, and meetings went on for hours and weeks despite its isolation; thousands attended the meetings, including a church camp held throughout 1948. Though Azusa Street and Toronto Blessing are certainly the more significant revivals, 1948 also had a big impact, and it was perhaps more theological.
The practical teachings that came out of North Battleford are as follows:
⦁ Restoration of the Church
⦁ The Latter Rain
⦁ The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets
⦁ The Restoration of the Tabernacle of David
I will discuss “The Restoration of the Tabernacle of David.”
“After these things I will return,
And I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen,
And I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will restore it,
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,’
18 Says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago. (Acts 15:16-18 NASV)
When the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles, it caused quite a controversy in the early Jewish Synagogue. They called a meeting in Jerusalem to discuss what to do with the Gentile Believers. To resolve the issue, James quoted Amos 9:11, which spoke of how God would restore David’s Tabernacle, resulting in Gentiles pouring into Israel. “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:” (Amos 9:11 KJV) They believed God fulfilled this prophecy in the church, clearly linking Israel and the church as one.
David’s Tabernacle also incorporated a new form of praise and worship in Old Testament Israel that included clapping hands (Psalm 47:1), lifting hands (Psalm 134), shouting (Psalm 47:1, 5), dancing (2 Samuel 6:16; Psalm 149:3), and using a variety of instruments (1 Chronicles 23:5; Psalm 47:5; Psalm 149:3). With David’s Tabernacle restored, this act naturally resulted in the church embracing the Tabernacle’s style of praise and worship.
The Davidic Praise and Worship movement explicitly fulfills Dr. E. Charlotte Baker’s statement in the introduction of her book, “On Eagles’ Wings”:
“There is a very deep cry arising from the hearts of God’s hungry people the world over, a cry to ‘know Him.’ Worship in its many facets and levels, I believe, is the answer to this cry. She further relates that “John 4:23 declares ‘But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: For the Father seeketh such to worship him.”’
In summary, I contend that when believers in the Body of Christ incorporate Davidic Praise and Worship, we pour our love and adoration on Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, like the woman poured out the oil on His feet from her Alabaster box. Oh, what a sweet aroma our praise and worship are to Him!
