“This last-day revival will be like every preceding great awakening combined, super-sized and coupled together with miracles never before seen by the human eye.” To catch a shadowy glimpse of the supernatural nature of this coming revival, and the degree of heavenly transport we will corporately experience, we should turn to [a] historical example.
One of the largest and most bizarre outbreaks of God’s glory on the streets occurred in 18th century Europe between the Reformation and the French Revolution. Out of nowhere, there were literally tens of thousands people being swept into trances and shaking with wild manifestations in the open air. These radical believers, who couldn’t be deemed either Protestant or Catholic, simply became known as the Jansenists. It was while they were in this “fitful and trancelike state” that the Jansenists came to be known as the Convulsionaires.
This became such a massive, shaking, ecstatic prophetic movement that it took 3,000 people just to stand on “prayer blanket” duty and cover the flailing women so they didn’t become immodest! What a Holy Ghost party that must have been. The most amazing thing is that the streets and cemetery [where it started] stayed packed, crowded both day and night, as this meeting never ended. It lasted non-stop for two decades straight.
Because of intense persecution, few people even know of the Jansenists in Modern times. Though we hear little of them today, the Jansenist miracles were the talk of Europe for an entire century. In the 1700s, the Jansenists were the buzz of the Western World, as thousands flocked to see them, “including individuals from all social strata and officials from every educational, religious and governmental institution imaginable.” They walked in a corporate harvest glory that brought multitudes into the Kingdom. The Convulsionaires were so widely known throughout Europe, and their miracles so well documented and verified, that even the skeptical writer Voltaire would not deny their supernatural abilities. Voltaire sarcastically wrote, “God was forbidden, by order of the King, to work any miracles there”. ”Scottish philosopher and critic David Hume even acknowledged the abundance of proof for the Jansenist miracles. One of their investigators, Louis-Basile Carre de Montgeron, a member of the Paris Parliament, published a huge volume in 1737 called La Verite des Miracles, giving testimony to the supernatural happenings there.
Interestingly, the Jansenists would enter a trancelike state to work their miracles. There were untold numbers of creative miracles, such as decayed limbs being restored. The most hardened atheists were converted at this. Likewise, their persecution became more intense. The Jansenists believed strongly in a Calvinistic type of predestination and preached the necessity of God’s grace for salvation. But their miracles did not win them reprieves from the church forever. And this is where the story takes an even more bizarre twist. As their persecutors came to kill them, the Jansenists were suddenly clothed with an invincibility that was utterly supernatural. They were able to “endure without harm an almost unimaginable variety of physical tortures. These included severe beatings, blows from heavy and sharp object, and strangulation-all with no signs of injury or even the slightest trace of wounds or bruises.” Church history professor Vinson Synan says the following:
“It appears nothing could harm the convulsionaries. They could not be hurt by the blows of metal rods, chains, or timbers. The strongest of men could not choke them. Some were crucified and afterwards showed no trace of wounds. Most mind-boggling of all, they could not even be cut or punctured with knives, swords, or hatchets! The Prophet Joel speaks of those in God’s army who will be invincible. This is a working of the Spirit of Might, the same that clothed Samson with supernatural ability in the Old Testament and enabled David’s mighty men to withstand all manner of battle and warfare. Knives, swords and hatchets bounced off of the Convulsionaires, as they were left completely unscathed.
In looking at the History of the martyrs, we often saw the presence of ecstasy that numbed the saints from their pain or brought pleasure in the midst of it. But this—what the Jansenists experienced—is an altogether higher level of glory. Do you believe it is possible to become so invincible in the glory that nothing on earth can stop you?On top of this all, another most remarkable miracle occurred right in the streets. Jansenist preachers began to levitate, right off the ground, preaching the Gospel to the thousands gathered around them. This is the most well- documented case of levitation ever recorded in broad daylight in church history.
What makes these events so unique is that they were observed by countless thousands of observers day and night for a period of many years. “People of all ranks were compelled to admit the truth of these things. The most celebrated doctors, who had pronounced the incurability of their patients, honorably gave certificates of the fact, and pronounced the cures not only beyond the reach of human aid, but, in many cases, the restoration of injured and decayed members, ‘actual creations’” writes William Howitt of his Jansenist research. Expect vast explosions of ecstatic experience to invade society again in these days as it did with the Jansenists of old. With supernatural signs and wonders following, this great end-time revival will be ushered in with more glory than any previous move of God.
The coming revival will not be event oriented, nor will it originate in the mind of man. It will not be spearheaded by one man or ministry. No one will have a copyright on it. Streets will be packed with dancing, preaching, and fire, with no one leading the show except God Himself. Entire communities and regions will be spontaneously transformed. True and lasting change will come in mere moments and will affect every sector of society, from politicians, schools, and media to ordinary laborers in the field. Ministry will be completely different under this coming corporate cloud. Preparation is unnecessary and futile when the cloud of His kabod presence comes. The anointing of God does all the work. And do not forget the role of the angels in this hour. They will be the harvesters, not you! (See Matthew 13:39)