Pentecostalism

The Asuza Street revival is, perhaps, the most important religious event in modern North American history.  I say this because the revival was led by an African American; gave Jim Crow America a glimpse of what the kingdom of God looks like; was, perhaps, the first form of organized Christianity in North America to ordain and/or credential women for religious leadership (this could mean that they were allowed to become members of the clergy and/or that women could apply for ministry positions such as bishop and/or senior pastor); and finally this revival became the catalyst for what is known today as the Pentecostal  movement, which the BBC suggests consists of around 250 million adherents (source) and the Pew Foundation says, with closely-related charismatics included, this family of faith represents "at least a quarter of the world's 2 billion Christians" (source) - which means roughly 500 million people around the world can be identified with the Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Holiness traditions.

The Azusa Street revival began in Los Angeles on April 14, 1906 at the African Methodist Episcopal Church and lasted till around 1915.  The meetings were led by African American preacher William J. Seymour and they could be characterized as exceedingly raucous gatherings that included speaking in tongues and the mixing of the races.  The mixing of the races is one of the most bizarre parts, particularly because of the deep, and politically sanctioned segregation of the races in the American South.  White preacher and prolific writer Frank Bartleman offered a glowing reflection on what happened at Azusa when he said:

The 'color line' was washed away in the blood

                                                           - Frank Bartleman, preacher

It can be a fascinating discovery to place Bartleman's statement next to one from the Apocalypse to John at Patmos (commonly referred to as the Book of Revelation).  In chapter 7 of this book, John finds himself in a vision in which he looks and sees the throne of "the Lamb" - which any Christian ought to know represents Jesus - and sees gathered around the Lamb a multitude of people that could not be counted "from every nation, tribe, people and language."  These people were all wearing white and were singing and shouting like hooligans and then some guy gets up and asks, "These in white robes - who are they, and where did they come from?"  John answers, "Sir, you know."  And then the other guy says back, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb"  (v. 14).  Isn't that an interesting observation?  These people's robes become white (pure?) when washed in "the Lamb's" blood.  Blood is supposed to be red, isn't it?  So does blood mean blood?  Or does blood mean something else?

The most bizarre part of the the coming of the Pentecostal movement was that 49 years before the rise of Martin Luther King Jr. a gathering of poverty-stricken Hispanics, Blacks, and even white folks would gather to hear a word from the Lord, speak the love language of God (glossalalia) and receive faith healings.  The faith healing is of particular importance to Hispanic and Black populations unable to purchase health care in a nation where "all men are created equal" (from the United States Declaration of Independence).